Waves in Motion
by veronica.toon.7
Summary: AU: You all know the tale of the Little Mermaid, but what if it had gone a little bit differently? Perhaps set about six years later from then original film, yet the first part where Eric nearly drowns still happened? And what if Eric knew it was Ariel who had saved him? How would the film go then?
1. Waves in Motion

**Chapter 1: _Waves in Motion_**

 **My first Little Mermaid fic. Yay! I've recently watched some scenes of the movie and I could not help but wonder what if Ariel had tried a different approach to Eric before she went to Ursula? Would had definitely saved some confusion, among some other things, and it might had had a much different outcome on how everything went. Thus this story was born.**

 **I own nothing. The Little Mermaid and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The sea was calm as the vessel made its short voyage into the night. Onboard a multitude of sailors laughed, cheered and made merry with one another. And what better occasion, the twenty-second anniversary of Prince Eric's birth. As was tradition, the night of his birthday would be spent on a marine vessels where the crew and close friends invited would celebrate and hold the festivities on deck.

Prince Eric himself was an athletic and strong young man. Over the years he had built up his strength and the rippling muscles on his body proved it. His short black hair swept across his head as smooth as the crest of the waves. His light blue eyes held a deep wisdom, yet still portrayed his energetic, fun-loving self. His attire was more fit for a determined, adventurous marriner then a regal prince, composing of a white, collared shirt with rolled up sleeves, blue pants with a red sash and black boots.

Beside him and urging him not to go off to the ship's back by himself was Grimsby, his confidant and close friend. Grimsby was shown to be quite elegant on his choice of appearance, consisting of a long, black coat, purple shirt, lilac ascot, grey and white pants and two, very long and buckled, purple shoes. The middle-aged man tried to pull the prince back from heading off from the rest of the party to be by himself, insisting that he come join him, but Eric shook his head and politely dismissed the offer.

As he walked down the ship's railing towards the back, Grimsby watched, worry slightly evident on his face. He had watched the prince grow up and loved him dearly, but there were times where he could be mysterious and secretive. Grimsby knew that the prince should be getting married soon, having putting it off for about six years now, but in that six year span Eric had seemed to go off quite often on his own.

Normally here it would not be a problem, except for the fact that six years ago the ship had caught fire by stray lightning on Eric sixteenth birthday, resulting in him being thrown overboard. Thankfully he had been found the next day, seemingly unharmed, but that still did not keep the unsettled feeling from rising over him as he watched Eric depart for the back.

* * *

By the time Eric got to the back of the ship, he already knew that he was late. In his hand was a small, lumpy object in a red handkerchief. It was simply wrapped, but he wanted to keep it close and out of the water as much as he could before he could present it.

As he swung by the farthest side of the ship, he saw his faithful and loyal sheepdog Max beside one of the purposely made holes in the ship to let seawater out from the top desk. Max regarded his master with a joyful bark before resuming his interest with the thing clinging onto the ship's deck and sending out a small appendage to pet Max's soft, long fur.

Eric smiled as he walked closer to Max and the other thing, feeling relief that it wasn't too late that his other companion had left. When he came next to Max, he bent his knees and sat down next to him and peered under the shadowed hole. A splash of salty seawater suddenly hit his face, sending him laying back and spluttering the ocean fluid.

"Hey. What was that for," he yelled, attempting to keep his hold on his wrapped object while trying to wipe the stinging saltwater off his face. As his vision started to become less blurry again, he heard a soft, tinkling laughter beside him.

"Well you deserved it. You're about ten minutes late and I was afraid you weren't going to show," a voice came from before him and with another wipe of the water from his eyes he could see who it was.

A young woman a year younger then him stared back at him, climbing up onto the ship's wooden deck where he could see her in the light of the lantern hanging above. A pair of aqua blue eyes stared cheerfully at him, set in a fair, lovely face. She had long, red hair that swept artistically across her head and she was wearing a set of lavender seashells that covered up her front. Eric smiled at her, taking in her sweet-looking and beautiful appearance. But what separated her from most of the girls he had seen was the fact that she had a long, green tail with lighter green fins.

The girl he had gone to see was in fact a mermaid.

Eric smirked at her witty response before playfully petting Max's head. "Oh yeah? Well then, Max," the dog perked up at his name being mentioned, "slobber her."

Before she even knew it, the mermaid had turned from a sitting position to one laying on the floor as she laughed and tried to pull Max away from all his doggy kisses. Eric laughed jovially before eventually pulling him away and assisting her into a sitting position once again. The mermaid nodded in thanks, before then brightening up and pulling out a simple, coral pink bag from its holding place on one of the ship's ornamental carvings. From it, she suddenly pulled out a sopping mass of fresh seaweed, obviously looking like it had meant to be wrapped around something.

"Happy birthday," she said, a bit sheepishly, to him. Her hand went behind her head and rubbed in softly as he took the gift from her. "Sorry about the wrapping, I didn't have any paper." Eric laughed as he started to unwrap it.

"It's perfectly fine, I wouldn't have it any other way," he replied. The seaweed was wrapped tightly around the object and he had to pinch and tear quite a bit of it to get to the thing inside. The mermaid graciously discarded the seaweed wrapping and threw it back into the sea as she anticipated his reaction to her present.

"A-Ariel," he stuttered, once he had gotten to the present's core. In the palm of his hand was a very ornately carved dagger, complete with its original case and everything. Despite being waterlogged under the sea for so long, it had been carefully polished to remove anything still sticking to it. He slowly unsheathed it and gasped at the shining blade, gleaming polished in the lantern light. His thumb rubbed the hilt of the knife where his kingdom's flag symbol had been delicately engraved into it. He took a long gaze at it before turning his head to Ariel.

"I know it's bit old and I tried my best to clean it up and stuff, but it's just that I wasn't sure what to get you, so I just hope you-" The little mermaid was suddenly cut off by a pair of warm, strong arms encircling her and pulling her close. After a moment to realize what was happening, her own arms went around his next and deepened the embrace. When they soon pulled out, much to both of their annoyance, she saw that he had a wide smile on his face.

"I absolutely love it. Don't think I don't. It's just that," he held up the knife, "my father had one of these just like this one." As Ariel watched him finger the knife, he continued. "I remember that he often used to pull it out and tell me about the adventures he had it with him when he was younger. When he died," he looked down sadly, "I never saw the dagger again. But... but just the thought you were able to find one exactly like his just makes me feel like I've gotten back a piece of him I thought I'd lost." He looked up again and smiled warmly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she softly said, smiling as she gazed into his sparkling blue eyes. He found himself doing the same, staring deep into their depths, until all in a second it was over. He leaned back, but then suddenly straightened up as if he had just realized something.

"Oh, I have something for you too," he said, reaching into his pocket and plucking out the handkerchief and giving it to her, who accepted it a bit weirdly, before staring back up at him again.

"But my birthday was a few months ago," she said, but he just nodded understandingly.

"I know, but I thought I just get you something from the festivities that you'd like. Just something small, but I know you enjoy them so much," he replied. Her hands slowly unknotted the red, embroided cloth and she stared at the little fruits tucked neatly inside of it.

"Strawberries," she gasped, reaching out to pluck one of the ruby fruits and eagerly taking a bite into its light-seeded, ripe flesh. A burst of sweetness touched her tastebuds, making her chew in ecstasy. She quickly took a few more of the delicious berries and popped them each into her mouth.

"This is so good. Thank you so much," she said between bites. A smile quirked at the sides of his mouth.

"You're very welcome."

"Prince Eric!"

Both heads spun around to the footsteps hurrying over to them. Eric quickly straightened up, slipping his ift into his pant's pocket while Ariel slid out of the floor hole. Just as Eric had stood up straight again and Ariel had disappeared into the ocean with a small splash, Grimsby appeared along with two sailors into the light.

"Over here Grimsby. I'm fine. Max here was keeping me company. Right Max," he asked casually. Max barked in agreement and licked his master's cheek before going to sniff the now empty spot where the strange woman that smelled like fish had disappeared to.

"Oh, thank goodness," Grimsby said as he took out his handkerchief and dabbed his forehead with it. "Perhaps you should come back to the front deck of the boat. After all, it would be a shame to spend your twenty-second birthday party elusive on the ship's railing."

Despite every molecule of him protesting the request, his years of princely lessons had settled in his being, acting as a moral compass for doing the right thing. He knew there was no use arguing with him, considering Grimsby had practically raised him at a very young age when his parents had died. Grimsby to this day almost always had the advantage in their arguments, so he might as well give up now while he still had any dignity left.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he admitted as he got up. Max pranced by his feet as he began walking beside his master to the front deck.

"Besides your majesty, you might as well enjoy yourself while ye can. The weather's lookin' a bit scurvy, so we best be gettin' back before history repeats itself," a sailor added. True enough, the once star-speckled sky was now covered in a thick layer of dark clouds. The moon was still visible, yet was blurred by the mists before it.

"And of course there's the list of possible wives for you to look over, considering you will be kinged in a week's time and a king must have a queen," Grimsby commented. Eric sighed and swept back his hair with his hand.

"Oh Grimsby. You know I don't feel so good about this entire finding a wife thing. I want to find someone out there who truly loves me for who I really am and not what my birthright says," he admitted.

"As do I, but let's hope we'll find her soon, considering your coronation will be this very week," Grimsby said as he continued his path to the front of the ship. Eric fell a few paces behind, eventually coming to a stop and looking out to the dark blue sea as far as the eye could see. His mind and heart felt conflicted at the moment. He knew he could no longer shirk his duties of finding a wife to become his queen, but... but his mind could not just let go of the image of the red-haired, gorgeous-faced, most beautifully voiced mermaid that had saved him all those years ago and continued to be there for him until now. He sighed as his thumb stroked the wood railing. He took another long, lingering gaze at the sea, trying to spot something in its depths.

"See you tomorrow, Ariel," he whispered, before Grimsby's voice once called him and he resumed his walk towards him. He suddenly froze when he heard something splash into the water below him. Looking over the railing once more, he could see the white ripples and bubbles of something that had clearly come off the ship. Just for a moment though, he thought he could see the flash of red and green.

A smile graced itself on his lips before he went to join the party. After all, it was for him and he wasn't going to let all the hard work done for him go to waste.

* * *

Under the sea, way below its surface and deep near the bottom, an amazing selection and variety of all life forms grew, survived and thrived. Fish swam through the crystal blue water as birds flew through the sky way above. All sports of aquatic plants, corals and polyps gave vibrancy and color to what would just be the sandy seafloor. And of course, beneath the wave's crest, lived the merpeople.

With the tops of humans and the bottoms and fins of fish, they existed in harmony with the ocean itself they lived in. Ruled over by the benevolent, yet widowed King Triton, everyone lived in peace under his reign.

Until Ariel realized she was late for her family's performance.

As the king's daughter, she was required to make public appearances along with her sisters and the musical show was no exception. She knew by the time she'd arrive back home their be a scolding lecture by both her father and possibly his right-hand crab, advisor and composer, Sebastian.

Still, this unavoidable, negative events that was fated to happen anyways did not stop the smile that had spread across her face, even as she swam and was joined by her close fish friend, Flounder, as they both headed home. Eric had said goodbye to her, even though he had not known she was there and could here him. The thought that he cared for her in that way sent her heart nearly bursting with happiness.

Ever since the day she had seen, rescued and met him, her feelings had only grown stronger. Though he was human and she a mermaid, she knew they had a bond like no other. While she had yet to admit and reveal her true feelings towards him, she had a strong knowing that he might reciprocate them as well.

The thoughts of what happened next had her almost fainting with giddiness.

She knew he had duties as a prince, same as she had as a princess, and she knew about the entire 'finding a bride' objective he had, but she hoped, from the bottom of her heart she hoped, that she might be the one he'd call his wife someday. If there was only a way to make him one of her kind or her into his, she knew they'd be absolutely perfect for one another. Living happily ever after.

"Ariel!"

Her father's deep baritone voice distracted her from her fantasizing and her shoulders slumped forward as she entered the glimmering, decorated palace known as her home. Inside she could see a hair haired and bearded merman with a gold, pointed crown, a blue tail, strong, chiseled muscles and lastly, but it at all the least, his all-powerful relic, the trident. A powerful artifact from ancient time, passed down from each ruler to the next, it was a glorious, yet was currently used more as a punctuation for her father's angry fit over her absence.

When Sebastian pointed and called out her name and her father rotated around to look at her, she mentally steeled herself for what was about to come.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter, there is more to come and I promise I'll do them all. So basically, to summarize the events until now, Ariel rescued Eric, but he was able to get a small look at her with a small conversation before she had to leave. Unlike the original film, Ariel kept her emotions in better check, meaning her sisters and father never assumed she was in love. We cut to a few days later where Eric is roaming the beach near his castle, looking for the mysterious girl who saved his life. Ariel visits him, but keeps her mermaid tail and origins hidden and promises to talk to him more. This continued for about a month or so, until the two came together in the place where "Kiss the Girl" happened and Ariel revealed her true form to Eric. He is shocked of course, but readily accepts her for who she is and promises her to keep her secret while still visiting her. This continues for until the current chapter where the dynamic will begin to happen.**

 **I was originally going to make Ariel give Eric a 'dinglehopper' for a birthday gift, but I figure if they've interacted over the years, they've obviously explained and told each other about things in their culture., but who knows, maybe I'll incorporate some hints of it in later chapter.**

 **Please leave a review and I hope you'll stay tuned till the next chapter. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	2. Dancing Sunlight

**Chapter 2:** ** _Dancing Sunlight_**

 **Wow, thank you so much everyone who reviewed, read, faved and followed my story last time, you guys are amazing. Sorry if the update took longer then expected, it's just that I'm on my last month of school and so things are pretty hectic. But never fear, I completely plan to continue this. In case you haven't figured out how this story might go, it's going to have some elements from the original movie, but they're altered because of the later time and the changed plot. This will be going along like the first movie, but with some very different parts.**

 **I own nothing. The Little Mermaid and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Ariel! You must stay back at the castle! Going out and exploring is not part of your grounding," called a red crab as he half-scuttled and half-swam after Ariel. Swimming alongside her was a yellow and navy blue-striped tropical fish with sea-green eyes. His lighter blue striped crest cut through the water like a pair of scissors as he zipped through, ignoring the shouting crustacean behind him. Ariel also seemed to ignore him as she zoomed out of the castle and into the open ocean. There was no way her father's scolding and punishment was going to interrupt her schedule today.

Not even Sebastian, her father's right-hand crab and head conductor for the plays and musicals he created and organized.

Today was a very special day. It had been two days since she had last seen Eric and yesterday he had told her that he had a surprise planned when he came later tomorrow. If there was one thing human were good at, it was never ceasing to amaze and surprise her.

Aside from her best fish friend forever, Flounder, and Scuttle, the know-it-all seagull, no one else knew of her secret meetings with the human prince. She had made them swear to secrecy in order to keep their hidden relationship and forbidden friendship a secret. They had quickly and sincerely agreed, both wanting her to be happy.

Sebastian's yells grew dimmer in the distance as they grew farther away, until his voice grew silent under the rolling of the waves beneath the surface and the brushing of seaweed in the current. Gradually though, the amount of coral reefs and fish shrank as the number of seaweed growing by the shore grew. Taking note of the sand banks coming up, Ariel let her head surface.

Along the beach and the castle and towards an area where the grassy landscape directly broke off to the sea was a willow tree that had taken root just before the water. It's long, dangling branches provided a nice cool shady area on both the land and sea. They had discovered it many years ago and it had been since then their usual meeting place. And if Eric had a surprise planned out for today, she best not be late to getting there.

As they grew closer to the spot, Flounder stopped and stayed behind, keeping lookout for his friend incase a certain crab caught up to them or anyone else for that matter. Ariel kept swimming ahead, often popping her head out of the surface to see if she could find the certain prince from her position. By the looks of it, he was already under the tree, hidden away from those outside. She dipped her head under the water and swam all the way there. When she surfaced, she was instantly greeted by a tan, handsome face smiling at her.

"Hey, Ariel. Glad to see you made it." She giggled a bit and allowed him to help her get onto land and into the shade.

"Wouldn't had missed it for the world," she replied. Her eyes quickly focused on the nicely-made picnic lunch he had set out for them. She realized that she was sitting on a checkerboard red-and-white blanket with a basket on top. The lid was partially open, revealing the contents stuffing it. Eric came over and pulled out several plates and eating utensils, before pulling out the food. She gasped in happiness when she saw more red strawberries, along with some cream, bottles of milk, cloth-wrapped sandwiches, potato salad and even some small fruit tarts that, judging by the steam rising from them, had just been baked this morning.

"Eric, this... this is so amazing," she said. She had been on picnics with Eric before, yet they never ceased to amaze her. Eric's hand went to scratch the back of his head while his cheeks grew as red as her hair.

"Well, I-I... it's nothing really. Just some regular food as always that I thought we might enjoy together," he stuttered. Thankfully, she hadn't noticed his blushing cheeks. She extended her arm and plucked out two strawberries from the small bowl and eagerly handed one over to Eric's free hand. He accepted it gratefully, but held his head down to hide the rogue on his cheeks from her bright eyes.

Ariel took an big bite of the red fruit, chewing happily on the sweet morsel. "Mm, I still think you outdid yourself this time," she said after she swallowed.

"Thanks," he replied, before reaching out towards the container of potato salad and the plates he had brought along. If there was one thing about Carlotta is that she really knew how to prepare good food, picnics no exception.

* * *

Eventually the sun started to set across the waves. The both of them laid comfortably on the blanket beside each other while admiring the sky splitting into fiery hues, gradually growing duller as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. The leftover food and utensils had been organized carefully in the basket, ready to be taken care of when the owner came home and brought it with him.

"Hey Ariel, do you ever wonder why the sun sets red and all those other colors," he asked. Ariel turned her head towards him. Her body was pressed closely to his and his arm was comfortably under her head while his hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"I'm not sure, but that's a very good question. I do wonder why the sky turns red and oranges and yellows and golds and such instead of blue like the day or night. But what I do know is that ot really is a beautiful sight to watch," she replied, smiling at the vibrant colors.

His head turned to look at her and the sight took his breath away. The sun's last light shone gold over her form, illuminating the features of her face. Her hair appeared to be streaked with gold and her baby blue eyes sparkled. He felt his heartbeat accelerate and pump blood to his cheeks.

He visibly cringed when he discovered that she had caught him staring a her. In an instant, she had turned onto her side and was looking concernedly at him.

"Eric. Are you okay," she asked, appearing to be surveying his face. Before he could answer though, he felt a cool hand touch his forehead. He visibly relaxed at her cool touch. Mermaids and mermen, as Ariel had explained, had much cooler temperatures then humans, a trait from their half-fish forms. She commented that sometimes when he held her close he felt like an inferno against her skin.

"Eric, you're overheating. Do you have a fever or something," she asked hurriedly, snapping him out of his thoughts. Even though he had a much warmer temperature, Ariel had also explained that her kind was also very sensitive to changes in heat. His hand reached up and took her hand off his forehead and into his hand. He stroked it softly with his thumb.

"Yeah. I'm just fine," he said slowly. She squinted at him through the golden light.

"Are you sure?" He gave a simple nod.

"Positive," he answered, giving a small smile to reassure. She reciprocated the movement, revealing a row of pearly whites. All of a sudden though, her smile changed into a frown and her eyes grew wide.

"Ariel," he asked, clenching her hand tighter. She quickly yanked it out and started moving closer to the water's edge.

"Sorry Eric, but I just remembered that I have to get home now or my dad will kill me for being late," she called out as she slid her tail into the water first, but his hand caught onto her arm before she could go any further. Her head twisted over her shoulder and met with his sparkling blue eyes as well.

"Wait," he said, releasing his arm slowly. She stared deeply into his face, waiting on what he had to explain. "Thanks for coming today." She stared quizzically, but gave a genuine, gracious smile. The rest of her arm slid out from his hand and wrapped around his neck and squeezing it tightly.

"I had a great time too." A wide grin graced his face as he used both his arms to wrap around her shoulders. Ariel's eyelids fluttered close as she felt his body heat seeped into hers. He was so warm compared to her cooler, oceanic body. Her head came to rest over his shoulder and she gave a content sigh as she could feel the vibrations coming off from his strong heart beating inside his chest.

Another difference between them was that merpeople did not possess as such a strong vital organ as humans, partially because of their fish tails and another was the lack of their immortal hearts. Merpeople could live for longer periods then humans, but humans had souls that would remain even after they passed on. Merpeople either became the seafoam that was just sloshed across the waves or their forms just fell to the sea bottom and decayed, though funerals usually were the more common ritual to do.

How she longed to stay up here in the human world and be a part of it, soul, heart and legs too. Maybe even with Eric...

Her cheeks grew hot as she slowly pulled herself away from the embrace and bid farewell to Eric before heading into the water and swimming back towards home. As much as she loved spending time with Eric and knowing he enjoyed spending time with her too, having a relationship beyond more then just friends was out of the question. To be in, persay, a romantic relationship between him meant she would have to be human or him a merman, both impossible without the aid of strong power. Power found in her father's triton for example, but asking for his permission was a definite way to gain his appalling disgust and rage.

Known fact that humans were not well liked among her family, nor her kind in general. Judged only by outwardly appearances and negative qualities alone, such as the ones who went out to sea and hunted both fish and other sea creatures alike, humans were considered to be barbarians that knew no morality and would not hesitate to harm or kill a mermaid or merman if discovered and caught. Her father had a particular hatred of them, seeing how his wife and her mother, Queen Athena, had been the unfortunate victim of human destructiveness and had died because of it.

But she saw otherwise. No creature could be that bad if they made such wonderful things, like then many she had collected in her secret grotto over the years. Human relationships with each other, their culture, their philosophies, their beliefs, their lifestyles. Everything. She loved learning about ot all and it was her dream that one day she would get to be a part of their world above. And she knew Eric would be there to help her explore and take part of it every step of the way if she got the chance.

Flounder joined up beside her and they turned in the direction of her grotto. It was just a quick stop to probably just reorganize and maybe dust off the sand gathered on some of the objects. She smiled as she thought of everything she had collected over the years. Eric had been amazed by some of the things she had brought up or described to him. He said she might have more stuff then what he had in the castle. She took pride on having so much human culture already in her life, along now with her relationship with Eric, yet it never felt enough for her to be satisfied.

She soon came upon a niche in-between some large stone walls. She slipped through the crack and kept swimming with Flounder right behind her. A light came up ahead, coming from a hole in the ceiling. There the crack widened into an entire space that extended way upwards to the ceiling. Inside the cave were rows and shelves, filled to the brim with the widest collection of human objects that would make a human collector cry out to the heavens how he had been bested so by this.

And in the center of it all was a most glorious statue of none other than Eric himself. A gift received on his sixteenth birthday, it had sank when the ship had been destroyed and had been moved to her grotto. Chiseled out of fine grey marble, it bore quite a remarkable likeness to the person it had been dedicated to. She distinctly remembered several years ago, back when their relationship had just begun, she had told him about his present and had offered to bring it back to the surface, but he had politely declined, saying that the statue's princely demeanor did not quite captured who he really was. He allowed her to keep it down there, knowing it be much more appreciated with her then up above on the surface.

Her hand extended out and pressed against the statue's cheek. A smile graced her lips as her thumb stroked it. Even though it wasn't Eric himself, it made her feel better to have something to remind her of him on days they couldn't see each other. And although it was cool stone instead of warm flesh, it still held the same handsomeness as the original. She felt a bit embarrassed to be caressing a statue like that when it resembled her best friend, but as long as no one knew and told Eric about it, she felt safe to gaze lovingly at Eric's face, even though it was just a model and could not stare back.

So absorbed was she at looking at her friend's gorgeous face that she did not hear someone else enter her grotto, not until Flounder's fin tapped her shoulder and she turned around towards the entrance.

"Ariel!"

Her form bristled, she felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach as she saw the figure glaring at her from halfway within the shadows. Her eyes slowly looked fearfully towards his furious blue ones, as upset and wild now as the ocean in a storm. She saw his grip on the triton he carried tighten, preparing to use it now if necessary. A gasp escaped her throat as he swam in closer to her, into the middle of the room.

"Daddy," she whispered.

* * *

 **"Cliff Hanger, hanging from a cliff. That's why they call him Cliff Hanger!"- song from "Between the Lions."**

 **If any of you guys caught the reference in the dialogue to the original Little Mermaid story by Hans Christian Anderson then good for you. Again, sorry for the delayed chapter, but school's almost done for me which means more time for my story. I'm still figuring out how the next chapter should go, but I promise it will be out faster then this one. Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter please leave a review and I'll see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	3. Conflicted Desicions

**Chapter 3:** ** _Conflicted_** ** _Decisions_**

 **I've decided to get closer on track with the original movie, but not without altering some of its scenes and changing up the dialogue a little bit, so expect something closely related to the original storyline now.**

 **I own nothing. The Little Mermaid and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The atmosphere in the remains of the grotto held an aura of despair and lost hope. Items lay shattered, broken, cracked and disintegrated into ash all about the shelves and floor. Rock crumbled, revealing areas where marks held the remains of powerful energy blasting across the surface. And in the midst of it all, buried and curled up on the rocks between the broken pieces of the statue was a weeping mermaid.

She felt her heart break and a shudder passed through her sobbing form as the voice echoed back in her mind. The memories were still as vivid as they were a just few minutes ago. They replayed in her mind like a empty din, only bringing forth more emotional pain.

 _"He's a human, you're a mermaid!"_

 _"I don't care!"_

Like their sea-dwelling brethren, merpeople are incapable of shedding tears of any kind. None the less when one or such has experienced great sorrow or grief they weep and cry out nonetheless. It is said that the mourning cries of a mermaid stir the pity in even the most stone cold of hearts. As of this moment a mermaid wept as she felt immense sorrow, as well as some loss and anger for the destruction of her grotto and collection.

 _"So help me Ariel, I am going to get through to you. And if this is the only way, so be it."_

The blaring light of the magic beams blasting through and destroying things on content. The swift explosions sending her precious items into nothingness. The apathetic expression her father bore as he ignored her pleas and destroyed all the sentimental things that held value to her.

 _"Daddy! No... No please! Daddy, stop! Daddy! Nooo!"_

The merman had left as quickly he arrived, swimming silently away. Leaving her to mourn for her broken refuge without any form of comfort at all. From the deepest parts inside of her she felt a deep resentment for her sire form through all the sadness. Resentment for his lack of empathy. Anger for his one-track mind that painted him in a stubborn, insensitive light. Hatred for him dismissing her as a child and for not seeing past that as a much more mature adult.

Brushing past her bangs and seeing through the murky water, she could faintly see the remains of the statue around her. She felt more grief swell up in her soul and her form became racked with more sobs.

The statue was not real. It had no life. It had no heart. It did not breath. It could not feel any emotions or think any thoughts. It was as lifeless as the stone it had been carved out of. It even paled to the real, living thing.

But in there held the sentimental value. The statue served not as a replacement for the real thing, but as a reminder of the first time they ever met. A memorial to the first night she had seen him and then later the time she saved his life, the time they met formally and the start of all their times following together. It was a testament to her admiration to the human world and the wonderful person who had shown her just a slice of it all.

Now it was reduced to dust and rubble. Just more sand and rocks on the ocean floor.

As the rock particles began to settle back down to the seabed, her eyes caught on to a part of the statue that had still remained intact. The empty eyes and the chiseled face stared back at her, cracked around the rims but nary a visible crack or niche on the surface. Shakily she reached out her arm and grasped onto the statue's face, pulling in back and hugging it tightly to her chest as a fresh set of sobs and shudders came forth. Her tail curled up close to her head, tightening the ball she had made herself into.

She clenched onto the rims of the face, wishing now more then ever that everything would go back the way it was. Shards of glass and crockery turning back into vases, pottery and figurines. Bits of metal melded back and twisted into their original states. Chard papers stitching back into the covers of books. Pieces of stone reverted back into the statue. Her heart gone of the broken cracks that spread out all over.

As she let her emotions cloud her senses in her grief-filled state, she did not notice the two yellow-eyed figures that slunk quietly out of a hole in the stone wall and into the destroyed remains of the grotto. Not the two that Ariel had sent off so that she may mourn alone, but two identical bodies with ribbon-like shapes that swam in fluid, curling motions, eventually coming down to the seabed to her level.

Though their shadows gracefully flowed over her in an eerie way and their presence felt unwanted and frightfully unexpected, they spoke words on silver tongues, edged by the poisons of false comfort and deceptive concern. In her sorrow-filled state, she could not discern their words from the truth or not. They slithered around her, speaking highly praised words of someone who could help her out of her state and help her achieve her dream. Her dream of being with Eric as a human in his world.

Only if she would follow them to meet with Ursula, the seawitch. The name sent her reeling back in shock and her mind became clear again with the stories and rumors told of her.

Far-fetched and exaggerated as her father's tales of and few experiences with humans may be, the many stories he had told of Ursula the seawitch were far from false. Once a renowned mermaid, a mage in her day, she had been highly regarded as a master of the mystic arts, especially in healing arts. Unfortunately, her career had ended when she had taken a sharp turn downwards as her desire for power and her hunger for control over everything lead her astray into the path of dark magic. She had tried to storm Atlantica and seize control over the city and over the ocean itself. She had ultimately been defeated by her father wielding his triton and was banished to the very edges of the sea, isolated in the desolate, barren and dark waters of the trenches.

Many foolish mermaids and mermen who looked to her for help or boastful, arrogant ones who tried to seek her out were never seen again. It wasn't just from her father's words, many close friends and family members described the many lost to the sea witch out there, perhaps someone close or dear to them. Many told tales of how she lured them before devouring them, others say she transformed them and made them into her slaves or ingredients in her experiments. But whatever the story, the main thing that stood out was too avoid Ursula at all costs.

She suddenly lashed back at the two, demanding that they go and leave her alone. As much as her heart desired to be with Eric, the fear surrounding the thought of visiting her was enough to make her deny the suggestion. Yet as she continued to think about the offer, the more her heart ached for the comfort she felt with Eric. Here, under the surface, she felt alone, more then ever now that her father had attacked her precious collection without taking any thought of care or sensitivity to her. He was wrong about the humans. He was wrong about her. Yet, despite all the warning tales, could it be that he could also be wrong about...

"Wait," she called out. The two eels stopped in their tracks and their single gold and white eyes on their faces focused on her as their heads flicked back. Their mouths curled up their lips as they asked, revealing a set full of sharp, pointed teeth as they stared at her inquisitively.

"Yeeeeeeeeeess?"

* * *

Just outside the city limits the environment changed rapidly. If you went far enough the bright coral and seaweed retreated, revealing the barren, pale white sandy floor. Even farther out lay several cliffs and trenches where shadows lurked and so did many creatures of darkness. The sunlight was not as strong here as it was back home and as the night came alive she could feel fear rising over her at the thought of many night-dwellers coming out to attack.

Yet her resolve did not waver. Her emotions were strengthened by her love for Eric, even if he did not reciprocate the feelings as strong as she did. She wanted nothing more then to be with him as a part of his world, sharing it with him with two legs just like him. Even if it meant striking a deal with a witch of strong dark powers she was willing to pay the price to stay with him.

The water grew bitterly cold as she swam, forcing her to cover her arms with her hands and rub them to keep warm. Behind her called out Flounder and the crab-who-will-not-be-named to try and pull her back from going out here, but she ignored them both. They could never understand the feelings she felt for her true friend that had been her mentor, teacher, explainer, cook, musician and even pair of legs all through the years.

Jagged rocks soon connected and grew smooth as they formed caves that made the ideal hiding spot for the fearsome monsters they held. She tried to swim closer to the twin eels following her in order to prevent herself from getting lost. Hot water and large columns of ash squirted up from underwater geysers, providing warmth from afar but painful heat if any closer then that.

The eels soon led her towards a great cavern surrounded by trenches all around that appeared to look like the stone skeleton of an ancient sea monster that had come straight out of the stories told of the past. Though she had long since stopped believing in such exaggerated creatures, the design of the cave seemed to resembled her early ideas of what they look like. As the eels motioned her to keep following them towards the entrance of the cave that resembled the mouth of a large, toothed creature, she hesitated and halted very briefly, taking in the menacing appearance of the cave. Her mind started to double back on her decision, before the eels stopped and looked back at her.

"This way," they said.

She took in a deep breath before swimming into after them. Uncertainty or not, she was getting this done.

All at once she gasped at the horror before her. Surrounding the entire bottom of the tunnel and along the sides were several animate objects. Polyps of all dirty color and long tentacled bodies stared up at her with wide eyes and sorrowful mouths. They quaked and wailed constantly as she swam over them. She felt fear enter her heart and her thoughts recalled every story she had been told of disappearing merpeople. She let out a sudden gasp and her eyes turned towards her wrist where one had latched on with their tentacle arms, pulling her back and shaking their head fearfully as she attempted to pull free from their slimy, tightening grasp. She finally succeeded in pulling free and quickly hurried on her way, but not without sparing the creatures one last glance as they howled mournfully at her and kept pleading at her to go back.

She finally passed the garden of moaning creatures and rounded a bend where it was free from them. Long pink and wavy vines fell down from the ceiling as she went deeper into the cave. All at once she could hear the voice that she had without a doubt belonged to Ursula.

She froze in place as a black octopus tentacled, light blue skinned, white haired and... slightly bulgy women slinked out a shell resembling loft and onto the floor. After a quick lecture for lurking in doorway being an impolite way to visit, the cecaelia slunk across towards a vanity where she began applying cosmetics to her form, all while getting right to the point of her predicament. And she had the solution right on the tip of her tongue and she spoke it as calmly and smoothly as she had rehearsed it many times.

Becoming human was the answer to her problems.

Her interest was instantly gained by the smooth words of the cecaelia. Hardly any time had gone by since the start of their conversation and she had already found the solution that, despite the risks, was what her heart and soul longed for then anything else. She asked if it was possible for her to do the transformation on her.

In a melody that both haunting yet alluring in it's detailed lyrics, she sought the answer and what came with it. Gaining two legs and humanity could be achieved through the use of the sea witch's magic, but at a price.

To become human at the minimum of three days time, she would have to give up her voice. She would then have two charming legs like every human and in the time she spent up on land she would have to make the prince fall in love with her and give her the kiss of true love in order to keep the spell permanent. If she failed to do so in the time limit, she would turn back into a mermaid and become Ursula's property to do so what she pleased.

Deal and limit tensions aside, giving up her mermaid tail and facing all this, even if she succeeded, meant she be leaving her home, her sisters and, albeit willingly now her father. She would never be, see or even speak to them ever again if she signed the deal with the provided contract and quill made of the skeleton of a fish.

As the tension mounted on her decision, she felt conflicted between her feelings. Giving up ever being with her family ever again and becoming mute for the rest of her life in order to be human and spend her life with Eric, or giving up ever having the opportunity to be part of his worlds and living unhappily for the rest of her days as a mermaid. Ursula singing grew more urgent to choose with each passing moment and the option had already been completed. All that was left was her consent and the chant that would complete the transformation spell.

Taking a deep breath, closing her eyes and turning her head over her shoulder while she felt a wave of betrayal and guilt sweep over her, she snatched up the quill and signed her name at the bottom of the glowing, golden scroll.

The quill disappeared and the contract magically rolled up and moved into Ursula's grasp before disappearing as she clenched it. The sea witch turned and grinned maniacally with widen, ecstatic eyes before moving over her cauldron to complete the spell. As the chant rose up from her lips and a vortex of light and smoke rose up from her arms rising higher and higher in the cave, Ariel sent out a silent prayer, asking for her sisters and father's forgiveness for her decision.

Suddenly, the blue light turned green and out from the cauldron came two, ghostly hands, following the witch's own. She turned towards her, eyes maddened with power as she issued forth the payment of the spell.

"Now sing!"

A little, white light glowed on her throat as her lips opened and she let a melody usher forth, ringing through the swirling vortex and into the otherwise silent cavern.

"Keep singing," Ursula ordered as the hands bent their clawed fingers menacingly towards her throat. One swiped over her neck, letting the light in her throat grow brighter. Ariel could feel her vocal cords begin to loosen before locking, yet the song coming forth as loud and true as always. The remaining hand flowed into her mouth. Her head bent backwards and then forward again as the light was pulled out from her throat and glowed gold, still letting the melody play. Her hands clutched her neck as she watched the golden, light-filled sphere get taken away by the pair of gruesome hands and pulled over to Ursula's grasp.

The voice flowed into the shell necklace around her neck, held tightly and possessively in Ursula's hands as she watched with a maniacal expression. Her tongue ran across her teeth as the light glowed one last time before silencing as the last bit of the melody disappeared.

The smoke light spewing from the cauldron flashed one last time, now turning the light a bright, menacing gold. Ursula laughed as the smoke exploded and Ariel found herself trapped in a yellow sack that bubbled inside. Her body arched as a sudden unimaginable pain shoot through her body. Every cell felt like it had been ignited like the geysers outside the fortress. Her mouth opened and let out silent screams as a lightning bolt suddenly shot up her tail, splitting it in two. Scales retreated and revealed human flesh. Her bones changed from that of a fish into thighs, knees, feet and toes at the end.

The transformation had completed. The bubble around her popped and the light went out. Ariel suddenly felt the pressure of the ocean's water crushing down on her from all sides. Her mouth opened and she realized as the bubbles left her throat that she could no longer breath in the seawater. Her new appendages where her tail used to be kicked, but they were useless against her tail's flexibility. She could feel her lungs start to implode from lack of breath and a throbbing pain in her heart and brain.

Her eyes began to roll up in her head as she began to lose energy, but suddenly Flounder and Sebastian, having slunk along with her unknowingly, each swam underneath her arms and began yanking her up towards a hole in Ursula's cave. Ariel could feel her remaining breath and energy waning, yet she strained to keep conscious when she got to the surface.

It was early morning once she broke through, sucking in the sweet air into her lungs like it was honey. The water on the surface sparkled with the light of the rising sun and the sky was pastel colored that reflected on the water's surface as well. She soon realized as she began sinking back down under that she could no longer swim as we'll as she could, but Flounder and Sebastian each came under her armpits, supporting her up in the water and began setting a course to shore.

* * *

 **I'm out of school! Whoo hoo! More time for this story! I wasn't planning on copy-pasting the entire scenes of what happened here, so I tried to do the original script with some added things such as Ariel clutching the statue of Eric's face, Ursula's origin story, the tearless crying and the feeling of pain as her tail was split in two, the last two both reference to the original story if you didn't catch it. I really feel as though the transformation scene has to be the most horrifying scene ever made by Disney. Coming from a hardcore Lion King fan who's watched Mufasa's death and Scar and Zira's villain songs, that's saying something, but I really mean it. Years after my childhood and this still gives me the creeps.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Except for faster chapters coming out now that I have more free time and we have officially entered the original film's storyline. See ya then. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	4. Up in the Sand

**Chapter 4:** ** _Up in the Sand_**

 **Ooh, so exciting. The shocking reveal. I've been looking forward to doing this part in the movie for quite a while now, so this is about as fun for me to do as I hope it is for you to read.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The sun shone brightly over the landscape as it rose over the sea. The air was alive with the breeze bringing in the fresh scent of ocean into the bay. The atmosphere was calm for this time today and the weather made it ideal for people to come out and enjoy the peaceful world while they could.

For Prince Eric, it was perfect dog walking weather. Max pranced energetically across the beach, always a few feet or so before his master. The waves gently washed in and out, submerging and revealing the damp sand in a ceaseless cycle. This part of the beach had large cliffs surrounding the side towards the land, providing shelter from the sun later in the day. Plants with long, thin leaves sprouted out of the stone, taking root within the rock and accepting moisture accumulating from the sea air.

Not many people came out to stroll down the beach this early, something he was a bit thankful of. As his time of coronation approached, the deadline to find himself a wife by then came as well. It seemed like every time he came into the village, or even walked down the hallways of his castle, there was always some girl who would flirt with him, either not so subtly or shamelessly or shyly. They practically fell over themselves, all in attempts to woo him or beg for his hand in marriage.

Much to the thanks of Grimsby, who had taught him about such things early on, he had learned to dismiss their attempts politely. He knew what they all wanted. Marrying for riches and/or social status instead of love. His words came back to echo inside his mind every time one such girl appeared, _'if you're going to marry someone, do it for love. For without love, a relationship cannot grow and flourish'._

He silently thanked Grimsby a thousand times for giving him such wise words of life. Such a man had stood by him for most of his life, acting sometimes as an advisor, other times a consultant, a teacher, a friend, but mostly, what he needed most of all, a father. For as long as he could remember, Grimsby was there. He took charge of him when his parents had perished, swept up by the dangers of the ocean in an unfortunate sailing accident.

Perhaps that's why he took up an interest in sailing and exploring the ocean at such a young age. To understand it so that he and others wouldn't be afraid anymore.

His thoughts fell to Ariel as he inhaled the salty sea air. If he hadn't been out at sea on his birthday, he hadn't been rescued by her. And he would had never learned of the ocean as much as he did now if they hadn't kept seeing each other over the years.

A smile graced his lips as he thought of her features, both personality and appearance-wise. He loved how she was so confident, but could be shy and childish at times as well. He liked how she was so curious and eager to learn and understand, yet ready to add her own experiences and thoughts into the matter. He loved her laugh and how it was just so cheerful and joyous that it made him want to join in every time. His mind thought to her looks and how it was just as bright as her spirit. Her gorgeous red hair that looked so soft that fell around her head. Her blue eyes which always sparkled when she looked at him, her full pink lips which he just wanted to kiss all ov-

He blinked rapidly and his cheeks flushed as red as yesterday's sunset as he snapped back to reality. He let out an irritated sigh, embarrassed of where his thoughts had taken him. Ariel. His friend Ariel. His best friend in the entire world Ariel. She was kind, sometimes to kind he thought. He could remember sometimes when he was unable to visit her even when he said he would. Events, galas, parties, signings, openings. Everything he was required to do as a prince. Still, every time he walked back to the sea, despite each moment of nagging guilt and fear that she wouldn't be there, she was there. She was always there and readily willing to forgive him for breaking his promises.

Her soul was as beautiful as she was. He never hesitated to look at the goods in her, just as she did for him. She constantly was cheerful and upbeat, and even when she wasn't, she could always find comfort with him. _'For every kind deed, pay it forward'_ , Grimsby had said. Another tidbit he was thankful for. Still, for all he had done for her, it still never felt enough. For saving his life he had offered her his friendship. She spent her time with him and he with her, yet he could not stop the guilty feeling of not coming near to what she had done for him.

Each time she came to the surface and spent time talking with him, he could always see her eyes sparkle with curiosity and wonder. But within all this joy, he noticed something deep within, swirling in her ocean blue eyes. Longing.

She longed to be part of his world, but was unable to due to her tail. When describing the world he lived in everyday, he could only go so far in his details. He had admitted to the faults the humans possessed, such as the hunting and even slaughtering of her ocean brethren, but had worded it so she would not be completely terrified of it all or even him. Sometimes he felt he sugar-coated too much of it and if she had ever arrived onto land she would be unprepared or even hurt by it. He sometimes felt he hurt her by telling and holding back the truth, a painful paradox laying a burden in his heart.

If he had the power though, he would show her everything there was out there on land. If so, he would give her the power to be among his kind, experiencing everything there was, feeling every single emotion there was. She would be there, right next to him. Full of confidence and child-like curiosity at the wonders, but he would be right beside her incase something gave her fright. He knew he would protect her. Protecting her like a parent defend their child, or a husband protects his...

"Ergh!" His hand flew up to his face and landed right on his forehead with a loud smack. His face grew hot as he mentally berated himself for the sudden thought of Ariel. With legs. In a wedding dress. With... argh!

He stomped his foot into the sand, letting it crunch underneath his boot. He let out a big, exasperated sigh. What was wrong with him? Why was he thinking such things about Ariel? Why did he suddenly feel so hot thinking about her as he did when he was around her? Was he coming down with something? Was he feeling something? Was he...

His head threw up as a shaggy, four-legged body suddenly charged from behind him and began barking. Once the dog noticed his master was not following him, he swiftly turned around and halted before him.

"Max," he asked the canine. Max paced rapidly and hopped up, taking several looks between him and somewhere else on the beach. He suddenly bolted, darting right down the shore.

"Max," he shouted as he began sprinting after him.

* * *

Eric soon followed Max towards the part of the beach when the rocky cliffs began crumbling to show the grass-filled landscape behind them. Many large boulders littered the shore here, making it difficult to follow after a sheepdog charging through and in-between towards something unknown. He finally saw his faithful dog stop, barking enthusiastically at a large stone that had a slope going behind it. Pants escaped his mouth as he trudged tiredly towards him.

"Jeez, Max. Why'd you..." he cut himself off as a familiar flash of red caught his eyes from just behind the rock. "Ariel," he asked. Slowly, a head popped up from behind the boulder. The expression on the figure's face changed from surprised to positively brimming with joy.

He quickly straightened up and calmed Max down. However, the dog's joy was implacable as he hopped up onto the stone beside her and began pelting her with kisses. Ariel fell onto her back, pinned from above. Her hand flew out everywhere to push him away. Her eyes shut close and her mouth widened in an expression filled with laughter.

Yet not a sound came out from her.

She suddenly clutched her throat as he pulled Max off her. She began opening and closing her mouth, trying to force a noise out from her lips. He came onto the rock beside her, looking over her with worry.

"Ariel? What's wrong," he asked as he watched her try to form words. "Are you hurt? Are you sick? What happened? Can you speak? And why are you wrapped in," he pointed to the ship sails and ropes she had clad herself in, "that?"

She suddenly threw up her face towards him. Her hand fell off her throat and a shocked expression stared at him. A wide grin then spread across her face while her eyes glittered. She suddenly grasped the end of the cloth and lifted it up.

Eric felt paralyzed as two pairs of stick-like appendages came into sight. His mouth dropped open as all he could do was stare at the pair of legs. They were the color of warm human skin and they gleamed fresh and healthy. Several drops of water and sand grains clung to them, indicating that they had just been pulled out of the sea. There were no flaws to be seen, just the most charming pair of legs he had ever seen.

And it was then he realized he was staring at Ariel's legs.

He looked up at her, cheeks burning hot with embarrassment. She just stared at him, brimming with unsaid happiness.

"A-Ariel," he choked out slowly as he pulled himself into a straighter position. "A-Are th-they real," he whispered.

She stared at him confusedly before her lips peeled back and her head fell down. Her arms wrapped around her stomach and her shoulders began to shake. A wave of fear and worry rushed over him as his mind began racing with concern. Feeling that he had said the wrong thing and upsetted her, he started reaching over to pull her close to him. His arm retracted immediately back as her head threw up again and her mouth let out several quick huffs of air. Her form kept quivering and her eyes shut so close moisture began to accumulate on her lashes. He let out another sigh of defeat, feeling silly for himself as she continued to silently laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm hilarious," he muttered as she began to slow down. Her long, delicate fingers brushed away the tears of joy as she went back to looking at him. "So... Ariel. H-how did this happen?"

Her eyes flashed in shock. He felt another wave of worry begin to come over him, but he decided to wait before assuming. She let out a shaky breath and her head dropped down. Her hands went to cover her arms which she rubbed slowly. Her legs drew up close to her chest and she laid her head on her knees.

"Something bad happened, right," he asked slowly, trying to analyze her behavior. Her eyes turned up to him, almost pleading at his. He felt his heart wrench as she stared at the despairing turmoil and fear in their depths. _"Something really bad has happened to her,"_ he thought.

All of a sudden, she uncurled out of her ball and flung herself towards him. Due to just getting her legs, they buckled beneath her and she threw her arms out to grasp his shoulders for support. Her head pushed under the crook of his neck and laid against his throat as she took comfort against his warm body.

"Wha? Hey, hey! It's okay, Ariel. I'm... I'm sorry. I-I don't know what happened," he apologized. His arms went out and came underneath her legs, lifting them up and swinging them over his lap as he held her closer. "But I imagine it was very scary for you." His hands went to grasp hers. A chill came up his spine as he stroked the cold flesh with his thumb, trying to warm them up. Even as a human she still was chillier then most. Perhaps a sign that her mermaid heritage wasn't all gone. His head went to rest on her as she buried her nose near his collarbone. He shivered as her warm breath blew over him and held her fragile body close as she began to shiver as well. He held her close to him for some minutes, letting her absorb as much heat she could from him and the warm air.

Eventually she stopped shivering and her hands felt less cold and clammy in his. She relaxed against his form. He head eventually went to rest on his shoulder, right above his heart. The organ beat right on her cheek, sending a vibrating pulses on her face. Her fingers began moving on his palm, drawing the symbols Eric had shown her of what a heart looked like.

The beating was calm and she felt comforted just listening to it, along with his steady breathing. She silently thanked him a thousand times for finding her and being with her right now. The horrible images of being painfully changed and hurt from the night before slowly faded as his warmth rushed over her. Her eyes, suddenly feeling like they had weights in each eyelids, began to flutter close. She realized she hadn't got any sleep last night, what with her grotto becoming destroyed and then going to strike a deal with the seawitch. And then the painful transformation of having her tail sliced in two and turned into legs. She remember screaming silent screams of agony as it felt like a hot knife had jabbed and pulled down her entire tail before they were magically changed. Such event had drained most of her energy from her, making it even hard to stay conscious as she was rushed up to the surface and them here.

She suddenly was startled as she realized her body felt like it was drifting. Her limbs became heavy and numb and her eyes could no longer keep themselves up. She found that she no longer had the strength to lift her head up any longer as it lay limp on Eric's chest and shoulder. Her breathing became steady as she began falling asleep against her will. With her last thought she quietly apologized for putting him through this before she dove blissfully into the land of slumber.

After a few more minutes, Eric looked down and looked surprised at her sleeping form. Max hopped up and sat quietly beside them, anticipating his master's next move. He looked from his dog's mop-covered face to hers. Reaching up, he gently brushed several hairs from her face. She looked so fragile in his arms. So weak and helpless. So beautiful.

He reprimanded himself for thinking about that again, especially now that she needed him most now. Even though she hadn't said anything, her actions spoke loud enough. She trusted him to be there for her now. To be there and to help her become accustomed to his world. To guide her. To show her. To care for her.

But first, he needed to get her back to the castle. Making sure he was safely secured in her arms, he slowly moved off from the rock and stood up. He nearly buckled from the extra weight and on the slippery sand, but recovered. He gave a low, quiet whistle for Max to follow and the sheepdog obeyed. Together, the two figures slowly and quietly made their way across the beach and towards the castle right in the distance.

* * *

"Well, well, well. It appears our little pawn has her own strategies and advantages in the game we're playing," a purple-skinned figure as she hung over her crystal ball like an anticipating, hungry vulture. In the ball's depths was the real-life image of Eric taking the little mermaid with the dog trotting beside him.

"This could pose a problem," she mused, stroking her chin with her fingers. She sudden straightened up and turned towards the two eels behind her. "Flotsam! Jetsam," she barked out, "Be sure to keep a sharp eye on our little princess. She might know something to avoid the path we've set her on."

She glided across the floor towards her cauldron. Above the surface of the bubbling contents was a gold light fragmentation of Ariel. Her form laid limply, as if someone was carrying her. A match to her in real time. "I want to make sure she stays on that path, and if she tries to pull something off on the prince."

She hand reached out and suddenly clutched the figure. It suddenly disintegrated and streams of gold smoke poured out from between her fingers and palm. The shell necklace around her neck glowed slightly, as well as the pupils of her eyes.

"See to it that she fails."

* * *

 **Quick question for you guys, did you ever think that the entire transformation scene, along with the early night's events, would've exhausted Ariel? I'm just asking because after feeling all that sadness and emotional drama, facing fear immediately afterwards with the lair, song, deal and seawitch, and then having her tail, possibly excruciatingly painful, turned into legs, I figure Ariel would've felt tired due to all this when she came to land. Mm, maybe she took a nap afterwards at the castle or merpeople are simply just extremely endurant beings.**

 **I had a bit of trouble writing this, despite my obvious exuberance to do it. The main thing was that with the events being changed there has to be some scene revisions. Now that we're heading into the middle of the movie, I have some scenes changed or added that weren't in the original film. I have the next chapter planned out already though, so no worries. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and I'll see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	5. Eyes Wide

**Chapter 5:** ** _Eyes Wide_**

 **Here we go, some added scenes into the movie and a worrying Eric as well.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The castle was a marvel in it or itself. Made from white, gleaming stone, earth-baked tiles and painted with gold bands, it was a beautiful sight to behold. But the main pride in it was in the architecture and engineering. The castle itself had been built on a tiny strip of beach, mainly rocky back in the day. Most of the structures had been built into the cliff and into the sea. Several arches came over the water and looked out into the horizon, creating stunning sights varying on the time of day.

A large stairwell had even been made heading down towards the sea where one could come down and start swimming if they liked. Another thing that also displayed the kingdom's seafaring pride was a dock built right into one of the castle's sections, complete with a kingly vessel ready to sail at his disposal.

Inside the castle, however, was an entirely different sight as well. Plush, velvet rugs covered the shiny marble floors. Tall pillars stretched up to the ceiling and held up many of the doorways and arches. Many windows had an ocean view and were stretched tall with richly-colored curtains. Fancy decorum, statutes, artifacts, paintings and furniture gave the viewer a sense of the royalty that dwelled in this place.

Eric came into the main hall, eyes scanning for the people he sought out to take care of the slumbering girl in his arms. Max's nose was placed to the ground, sniffing pout for the scents of the two people he was searching for.

"Carlotta! Grimsby," he shouted. The halls echoed his voice and the sound of doors opening and slamming close could be heard. "Grimsby! Carlotta! I need your assistance," he called out again.

Max barked as the sound of hurrying footsteps could be heard and in an instant two people appeared before him. Grimsby, who took out his hankerchief to dab his forehead with it, and a sweet-looking woman in maid-servant clothes. Her hair was tied up in a bun and held back by a piece of cloth as she bowed politely before him.

"Yes, Eric? What is-," she took in the sight of the young woman lying unconscious in his arms. "Oh my word! What happened?" She was instantly over her, hovering to see any injuries or such on her. Eric took a sharp breath in and steeled himself to tell the cover story he had been planning as he made his way back.

"Carlotta. Grimsby. This is Ariel. She's my friend and I found her today on the beach, lying unconscious like this when I went to take Max on a walk. Could you please help her," he asked. Both eagerly nodded and went to take her from his arms, but he held her close and offered to carry her to where she needed to go. It wasn't that he didn't trust the two. In reality, they were the closest things he had to parents and trusted them with his life, but the worrisome concern he felt at the moment for Ariel's safety wouldn't allow them to take charge just yet.

Carlotta guided him to one of the bathrooms and showed him a spare couch to let her to rest on until she woke up and could be treated. After giving her word to always be standing by to aid her when she awoken, he finally was persuaded enough to go out the door and leave it to her. As Eric closed the door, he sensed he would have some explaining to do.

"Eric, I would like to have a word with you," Grimsby said. Eric sighed inwardly, but nodded and followed after him.

* * *

Her limbs felt heavy and her head throbbed with a searing pain. Her eyelids fluttered as a painful glare of light penetrated the thin layer of skin. She felt completely drained of energy and wanted nothing more then to rest awhile longer, but in the deep recesses of her mind the aspects of the deal still echoed. She had three days to be human and she didn't want to spend those three days just resting. Slowly, she lifted up her head and sighed as the dot of light shooting at her eyelids disappeared.

She cracked open one of her eyelids. It tried to flutter close with the lack of strength, but she managed to keep it open long enough to take a look at her surroundings. She looked down and saw she was wrapped in a soft pink blanket and that she was laying on a great big, magenta... she didn't know what. But what she did know that she felt warm and comfy on it, despite her aching, tired muscles.

She looked up and, to her astonishment, the beach and sand had been replaced with a more complex and shaded scene. She appeared to have been taken into a room of some sort. The rough ground had been changed to a smooth, shiny floor. Light filtered in from several windows looking out onto the ocean. In the middle of the room, a bit to her surprise, was a huge pool of water with stairs on either side leading up to a door above it. The water was bubbly and the air around it smelled sweet and soothing.

Footsteps came across the floor and stopped before the sofa. Her eyes went up and she brought the blanket up to her nose as a human woman stood before her. Aside from Eric, this was the first human she had ever seen up close or had seen her. Her hair was the same color as Eric's and her clothes matched the descriptions that Eric said the servant's wore. Her face had a surprised expression, but it soon turned into a warm, smiling one.

"Oh, I see you're awake," she said. "You must be Ariel." Her hand reached out for her to shake. Ariel froze as her mind raced for the proper response. She slowly then reached out her own hand and grasped hers, giving it a small shake before letting go and retracting it. She silently thanked Eric for teaching her some of his human customs.

"My name is Carlotta. Eric instructed me to take care of you as you recovered," she explained. Ariel relaxed more after hearing her name. Eric had spoken highly of Carlotta and had described her as sweet and kind and when given a task she took to it immediately with care. She knew she was safe with her. Carlotta took a step closer and kneeled down a bit so that she was at proper eye level with her.

"Pardon me asking, miss, but can you speak at all?" Ariel grew rigid at the question. Flashes of the deal and Ursula and the pain as her tail was torn into legs came fresh into her mind, renewing the pain she felt from the experience. She drew in her legs close to her chest and lowered her head so that it rested on her knees. Her eyes blinked rapidly to prevent the tears that were already accumulating behind her lashes. Carlotta caught on and quickly stood up and look sadly towards her.

"Oh, I am so sorry, dearie. Washed up from a shipwreck and you've lost your voice," she said wistfully. Ariel nodded but then slowly uncurled herself and straightened up. She was human now which meant she could cry tears now, but she was human and she didn't want to spend the three days she had feeling sorrowful. She flinched at first but then leaned into the woman's warm hand as she gently petted her head a few times.

"Oh, you poor thing," she cooed, but then gave a reassuring smile her way. "Don't worry, dearie. We'll have you feeling better in no time."

Carlotta's hands reached out and grasped the blanket gently pulling it away sand off her before one went to help Ariel stand. Her legs felt stiff and numb from the pain, but she slowly slid them off the couch and onto the floor. She felt a shiver go up her spine as her feet touched the smooth, cool floor. Slowly, her knees bent forward and she pushed herself off the soft cushion. Carlotta steadied her movements as she began taking small steps to the tub where she was going. Her legs sometimes buckled and one time she nearly fell forward onto her face, but she eventually made it to the rim.

Ariel blushed as Carlotta took off her makeshift dress and then her shells and then directed her to go into the tub. As she first stepped in, instantly her head threw up and her mouth opened with silent screams. The water was outrageously hot. The sea was never this hot. On good days it would turn warm near the shoreline, but it mostly stayed at a cool to cold temperature. This water's temperature reminded her of the boiling water around the rims of the geysers surrounding Ursula's lair.

Still she continued into the tub, despite the initially feeling of being boiled alive. Gradually though she adjusted to the heat and the warmth soothed the dull ache in her legs and muscles. She amused herself with the foamy, soapy bubbles while Carlotta helped clean her up. The scent of sweet pea and lavender soothed her senses and allowed her to relax more. She closed her eyes as Carlotta poured slightly cooler water on her head to get rid of the suds.

The bath ended sooner then she had hoped. Soon the tub was drained and she was pulled out and she started shivering. Carlotta thankfully came over and helped wrap a soft, wooly towel around her before leading her off to get some clothes while her cloak was getting washed. Ariel's feet buckled and ached a bit as she moved, but she excitedly came along to her next experience.

* * *

"Eric, please be reasonable. Your coronation is just days away and you still have to find yourself a suitable woman for a wife," Grimsby called out from his chair at the table. "I know the subject of marriage isn't what you're mostly engaged in right now and I wish there was another way, but tradition states that you must have a queen to rule alongside you when you become king." Eric was looking out one of the windows at the ocean. He sighed before turning back to him.

"I'm tellin' you, Grim, I have things all under control. I'm gonna find the perfect girl and I'm gonna marry her. There's no need to worry." He came in close and clasped a hand on the man's shoulder "Have I ever let you down," he asked. The older man sighed and shook his head.

"Not that I know of." He then looked up again at his face. "But I do worry about you and I know that you're still going to have to find a wif-"

The man was cut off as the sound of giggling came from the doorway nearby. The silhouette of Carlotta appeared and she was trying to bring out another person.

"Come on honey. Don't be shy," she bade. From the shadowed hallway stepped out a girl. Her feet had been decorated with jeweled, pink slippers that clicked on the smooth tile floor as she stepped into the light before the two men.

Her makeshift dress had been replaced with an elegant, rose pink one that came down to her feet. The sleeves were ruffled and covered her shoulders before moving down to her wrists with a sleeker form. A layer of pink polish had been applied to her fingernails, making them appear shiny. Her hair had been brushed out and her red locks tumbled down her head like a waterfall. A simple pair of pearl teardrop earrings had been placed on her ears while a small, shell-shaped barrette had been tucked on the side of her head. The sunlight illuminated her features, making her appear even lovelier then she was, if that was even possible.

"Oh, Eric, isn't she a vision," Grimsby asked as Eric walked over to her.

"Wow. You look wonderful," he said. She blushed and dipped her head politely down before sending a small smile to say thanks his way. He quickly came before Grimsby and took her hand before gently leading her over to an empty seat. He pulled out a chair for he and pushed it in once she sat down before moving over to his own seat.

"Uh. It's... it's not often that we have such a lovely dinner guest, eh Eric," Grimsby noted as he tried to start the conversation out right. Eric narrowed his eyes slightly at him for the comment, but Ariel was too busy looking at the plate and silverware laid out before her. She gently grasped one of the forks and stared at it before sighing. The forks back in her grotto that had been hit by her father's magic had exploded or rusted away and disintegrated at an alarming rate. Forks were among the very first human things he explained to her, something that she treasured a bit more over the rest of the things in her now destroyed collection. Sighing again, she placed the fork down and looked up to try and engage in the conversation. As much as she could at least.

She brightened up considerably when Grimsby took out his pipe to smoke. She remembered then that it was one of the pieces in her collection that she had forgotten to ask Eric about. Scuttle had explained best he could, but it was not the same as Eric telling her all about it. Scuttle had said you were supposed to blow into the end and beautiful music would come out. As smoke rose from it her curiosity about it only grew. Grimsby took notice of her looking at him.

"Uh," he said before he saw her eyes focused on his pipe. "Do you like it," he asked as he handed it over to her to handle. Eric's eyes watched the scene play out. He didn't approve of smoking, but he allowed Grimsby to do so every once in awhile. He silently prayed she wouldn't attempt to do the same. It is rather... fine-"

Ariel's lips suddenly clamped down on the mouthpiece and she blew hard. A cloud of soot and smoke burst out and went right over Grimsby face. Once it settled and Ariel handed him back his pipe, a bit disappointed that it didn't play any music. His entire head and front coat were covered in a thick black dust. Eric nearly fell out of his seat at the sight. He buried his face in his arm on the table as he roared with laughter.

"Oh, my," he called out, before regaining his composure and clearing his voice. "Ahem, so sorry Grim," he apologized, though the grin on his face still was evident afterwards.

"Why, Eric, that's the first time I've seen you smile in weeks," Carlotta pointed out gleefully.

"Oh, very amusing," Grimsby said as he began wiped his face of the last bit of ash and sooty tobacco leaves. "Carlotta, my dear, what's for dinner?"

"Oooh, you're gonna love it. Chef's been fixing his specialty. Stuffed crab."

Ariel stiffened at the sound of the dish. She had known about humans fishing, hunting and killing her seafaring brethren before going on to eat them, but she never suspected that she might partake in this otherwise barbaric aspect of life. The thoughts of sea life being placed on a plate before her, mauled and heated up, sent her stomach churning with disgust.

"Mm," Grimsby said. "Sounds," he blew a kiss with his fingers, "très magnifique."

Eric saw Ariel's form grow rigid and internally cringed at himself for not being prepared to protect her. Her first day as a human, the first shot had been fired and he was unable to defend her from it. He slowly reached over and grasped her hand. His thumb stroked the top of it and he saw her relax a bit. She turned her head towards him and gave a small smile, but he could see her uneasiness scrawled out over her face.

All of a sudden, everyone perked up at the sound of thumping, dishes cracking and breaking, and an angry person, possibly the chef, yelling. Carlotta set down the tray with the dishes she was holding and smiled sheepishly towards the three.

"I think I'd better go see what Louis is up to," she said before rushing off quickly to the kitchen. She came back not half a minute later with the trays in tow and a slightly miffed expression. She, however, changed her face to a kinder one as she served the guests.

"You know, Eric, perhaps our young guest, Ariel was it, might enjoy seeing some of the sights of the kingdom," Grimsby noted after taking a sip from his glass. "Something in the way of a tour?" Eric's gaze was fixed on Ariel and was staring entranced by her beauty, but when he realized Grimsby was talking to him he quickly looked towards him.

"I'm sorry, Grim. What was that," he asked. Grimsby's head cane in close and he began talking rapidly.

"You can't spend all your time just lazing about. You need to get out," he said as he lifted his plate cover up. "Do something, prepare for your life. Get your mind on the matter of mari-"

"Easy, Grim, Easy," Eric said, trying to stop him before Ariel could hear. Actually, Ariel had found herself interested in a much more concerning matter. Looking onto Grimsby's plate she saw a familiar red crab huddled up amongst the other things on his plate. Sebastian took notice of her and she lifted up her plate cover and waved at him to come over while the two men were distracted. He quickly muttered over and dove onto her plate, just as Eric turned to look at her. She leaned down on her plate cover and placed her hand under her chin, pretending that she had been paying attention the entire time.

"Well Ariel, whaddaya say? Would you like to join me on a tour of my kingdom tomorrow," he asked. Ariel's head came up and she nodded eagerly. He smiled as her eyes sparkled wildly with excitement.

"Wonderful," Grimsby said as he picked up his fork, "now let's eat, before this crab wanders off my plate."

His fork came down and clicked against the plate, making him look down and stare with confusion. Inwardly, Ariel sighed with relief, and so did Sebastian under her own plate.

* * *

After sneaking food from her plate and then afterwards sneaking her into the kitchen to pick up a ham, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with some mayo for her real dinner with a few freshly picked strawberries for dessert, Eric showed Ariel to her room, before heading off outside with Max to get out some of his energy before bed. The sheepdog energetically pranced and leapt around and slobbered his master's face a few times before he showed signs of sleepiness.

He came in close to be pet from his master when he suddenly looked up high towards the castle. Eric followed his face and found that in the lastly lit room up above was a figure leaning down and watching him on the balcony. He smiled and lifted up his hand to wave at her. She looked startled at the fact that she could be seen, but she waved back before heading back into her own room. He smiled, but then looked down to his arm where he felt a heavy drop of water fell. Little beads had accumulated where it had fallen. He felt another land on his head and heard the faint rumbling of thunder in the background.

"Time to come in Max," he said and together the two came back inside and into Eric's room before the rain fell.

His bedroom was not much different from the other quarters in the castle, save for the king-sized bed and the coat of arms with the royal family's emblem on it. And of course Max's dog bed. It was not too elaborate a room, something he was grateful of. It had just a few chairs and a sofa, a table, a desk with several papers and writing utensils strewn about it, a bedside table and a fireplace.

After changing into a loose t-shirt and pajama pants, he flipped back the navy fabrics and crawled into bed. He quickly blew out the candle before his head landed down with a thump on the goose down pillows. After tossing and turning a bit he finally found a position that he was comfortable in and just laid there to fall asleep. The rain had started to fall down and it plunked against the locked glass doors. In the distance thunder rumbled loudly as he storm grew stronger. He closed his eyes and started to let slumber take a hold of him.

A flash of lightning illuminated the rain on the glass panes as he suddenly sat up. Something was not right. He could feel it, but he didn't know what. He threw back the covers and slipped his feet into his slippers and went over to his closet to take out his bathrobe. Max looked up from his bed as Eric turned the doorknob and started out the door, but set it back down once the door closed again.

He squinted in the dark as he kept moving. He wasn't sure where as he walked down the hallway, but he felt as if he was being drawn someplace. He soon found himself stopped before Ariel's room. After another particularly loud roar of thunder, he could hear it. From behind Ariel's door, in the darkness in her room, he could hear whimpering. His hand rushed to turn the doorknob and come in to comfort her, but he stopped as he grasped the handle. His mind battled his decision. Part of him felt drawn to come in to see what was wrong while the other thought towards her privacy and how wrong it would be of him to come into her room at this time of night.

Another flash of lightning broke and he made his decision. He knocked lightly, trying to see if he would get a response. He then mentally called himself out when he asked himself how could she when she couldn't speak and probably was too asleep to answer him. He then straightened up with startled surprise when he heard loud whimpering from behind the door.

He turned the handle and walked briskly into the room. His eyes squinted in the dark as he tried to see. The candle had been blown out and the room was shrouded in shadows, yet he soon found his way over to the bedside. To his horror and concern, Ariel was resting on her side and whimpering. Her blanket was still folded at the end of the bed, indicating she had either been too exhausted to bring it up or she didn't know how to use it. She was shivering from cold or fear, or both. What sickened him the most though was the steady flow of tears falling down her face as she silently screamed and wailed into the night. With each roar of thunder she seemed to curl up even more and bury her head farther into her pillow which was already growing wet with tears.

Slowly, he extended one of his hands and reached out to place it flat against her back. Her formed shivered again and head threw back into another quiet wail as he then tried to shake her away.

"Ariel," he whispered, but the storm drowned his voice out. "Ariel. Please wake up," he whispered again, louder this time. He heard a gasp escaped his throat and her eyelids popped open. She searched through the darkness until she finally looked behind her and say his face. He took in her disheveled appearance. Her hair was slightly tangled and her lashes were stained with a constellation of tears that stained her cheeks as well.

"Bad dream," he asked and she nodded. Taking in another moment to make his choice, he then climbed onto the bed and sat down next to her. His arms spread out like an eagle and he nodded to her. She understood well enough and moved into a crawling position and moved closer to him. She threw her arms around his neck for the second time that day and held him close as hot tears fell on his shoulder and stained his shirt. She pushed her head closer and buried into the crook of his neck when another crash of lightning came and he held her tightly. One of his hands went around her waist as he pulled her into his lap while the other came to her back where it rubbed it soothingly in order to calm her down.

Her shivering finally lessened after a few minutes of comforting embrace. The storm finally died down a bit to the point where it was just the rain pattering lightly outside. Her ragged breathing soon became still again and the tears stopped flowing so much. She curled up against his chest again and let the beating of his heart calm her down more. His hand went up to softly brush the hairs clinging to her face and wipe the tears off too. His mind went to ponder the ways of what might had frightened her as much to cause her to wake up in the middle of the night silently screaming and crying. She had acted so afraid and weak when he had found her that morning and she had been fine the previous day. Horrible imagery conjured up as he thought of the things that could've happened in between those times.

For now he would just keep holding onto her and reassuring that she was safe here. Eventually the storm stopped and so had the crying, shivering and whimpering. To his shock, she had fallen asleep in his arms, thread nestled against his neck and arms wrapped tightly around it. He began to feel his face grow hot, but pushed down the feeling of embarrassment and set to work untangling her from him. She whimpered a bit in her sleep as he pulled her off him gently and her eyes attempted to flutter open a few times, but eventually he succeeded in placing her back down on the bed. She squirmed a bit against the down mattress to get comfy before she finally settled down calmly. Her arms hugged her pillow as she rubbed her face against it. Softly, he crawled off the bed and unfolded the blanket before draping it onto her still body. She shivered a bit as a slight draft of hair hit her, but cuddled against the soft fabric and fell deeper into slumber. With that being done Eric quietly made his way out the door, but not before bending down and planting a gentle kiss of her forehead. He took one last glance at the soundly sleeping female before softly closing the door behind him.

Little did he know that a certain crab had been watching the entire scene and was smiling thankfully at where Eric had been for his honorable act of compassion and kindness done in a modest manner. He then curled up on the pillow again and resumed sleeping.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the undersea palace of Atlantica, the king of the seas paced worriedly in his throne room. He leaned on the rim of one of the holes in the castle and stared out into the darkened sea as if searching for something. Or someone for that matter. He perked up as an sunset orange seahorse in a duke's collar swam up to him.

"Any sign of them," he hopefully asked.

"No, your Majesty," the small creature replied, shaking his crested head sadly. "The reports have come back with nothing. We've searched everywhere. There have been no traces found of your daughter or Sebastian." The king looked distraught at this news, but he was quick to respond.

"Well, keep looking. Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Search every last corner in the seven seas if you must," he ordered. "May no one in this kingdom sleep until she's at home safe."

"Yes sire," the seahorse replied before swimming off again, leaving a trail of tiny bubbles in his wake. The king then came over to his throne and sat down before burying his head and face into his large, callused hands.

"Oh, what have I done? What have I done," he mourned. "Ariel, I am so sorry," he whispered.

* * *

 **Moral of the story kids, DON'T SMOKE. Thank you Disney for poking fun at smokers at this era, but for all you readers out there smoking has major disadvantages and poses a huge threat to your health. Seriously, the medical issues it can cause are many and great. So if you are ever pressured to smoke, just say no.**

 **Have any of you ever wondered if Ariel ever had suffered any trauma from this entire ordeal? Really, do any of you think that she wouldn't have suffered the least bit emotionally and psychologically from that experience? Having her legs split and making a deal with a person that she had probably been forewarned up being someone to stay away from. I know I was scared at the climactic part of "Poor Unfortunate Souls", but I wasn't directly experiencing it all like she was. Disney has been know to dial down or skip over these kinds of things, Simba's trauma of seeing his father die and thinking he was to blame for it in the Lion King being another notable example. Then again, Disney does know where their audiences are and is after all trying to protect the younger generation from being traumatized at this kind of thing. Still, it would have been nice to see something similar to this in the movie, maybe with Sebastian being the voice of comfort, and in the Lion King too.**

 **I'm also glad they added that scene with Triton feeling guilt for his vacations. It makes him sympathetic since he regrets his actions, yet shows a deeper, caring side that isn't shown too much in the first part of the film. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Please leave a review and I'll see you again next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	6. Under the Sun

**Chapter 6: _Under the Sun_**

 **Hey everyone, sorry for being away for so long. I had a bit of trouble trying to figure out to do this chapter, as well as plan for the next one, but hopefully it won't happen again. Anyways, here's another wonderful scene in the movie to write about. I adore it so much and Ariel's childish innocence is absolutely charming and wonderful to watch. And let some shipping begin!**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The second dawn broke, Eric took to Grimsby's suggestion immediately. As the first rays of sunlight graced his kingdom and bathed the world in a golden light, he and Ariel had mounted a horse-drawn carriage, waved goodbye to Grimsby and Carlotta, and were off to see the village. As the equine kept a steady pace towards the rustic town a short pace away that was already starting to bustle with activity, Eric took notice of Ariel's expressions throughout the ride. A slight chuckle escaped his throat as her head kept looking back and forth and all around at all the sights he normally saw on a regular basis.

However, he couldn't find himself to chide her on her childish innocence and curiosity. The way her eyes gleamed at the landscapes and movements of people and animals both far and near, the way her facial expressions glowed with each passing second, he would feel terrible to take that away from her, even for just an instance. However, he was shocked for a moment when he discovered that she had draped herself on the back of the carriage and was leaning down to watch the underneath of the device while the horse kept trotting on. Okay, shocked was an understatement. He nearly stopped the carriage to pull her up again until he realized she wasn't going to fall down anytime soon.

As soon as they reached the village though, Eric saw Ariel's eyes grow wide and her entire face sparkle with joy and curiosity that he felt his heart swell in pride over. The kingdom itself was a marvel to behold as much as the castle. All kinds of plants, from palm trees to deciduous to all kinds of shrubs and bushes dotted the landscape. Stone bridges arching high over ravines with water heading out to the ocean connected many of the areas to one another. White buildings with red, stone-tile roofs stood on either side and even stairs leading down towards the water where boats and ferry rides floated were as far as the eye could see.

As soon as the horse reached the town square, Eric stopped him, placed him in a spot where he would not be in any harm and placed a bucket full of grain and bran over the horse's muzzle to keep him satisfied till they returned. He then walked over to the side of the carriage where Ariel sat and help her dainty form down onto the cobblestone-laid earth.

Townsfolk walked all around them, though many surprisingly didn't acknowledge that their future king was right among them. From sellers of all kinds of products, livestock, and objects to street performers to washerwomen to people running errands, Eric was sure Ariel might get dizzy from all the activities bustling around them, so he kept close to her just in case. As she dragged him along everywhere and pointed out to everything she could see, he patiently explained what they were and their function. It made him happy that she was happy and that he got to show her his world. He even let her feel around some things, like the designs etched into the stone and the different wares people had to sell, though he did have to pull her away and apologize for her when she got a little too curious around the human figures made of cloth and felt bopping one another on the head with a wooden bat.

Eventually they came across two different stands, one selling flowers and another selling freshly baked loaves of bread and pastries. Reaching into his pocket and placing a few silver coins into her palm, he asked her to go over to choose a bouquet to buy, instructing her how exchange works and to give the man the exact number of coins for the flowers she wished to get. He trusted her to go do it by herself while he went to buy some of the baked goods, knowing full well that he had taught her how to count and recognize currency when she saw it. Plus she would only be a few feet away in perfect seeing distance, so in the unlikely case that anything bad happened to her, it would take just a short amount of time for him to come over and help her.

Coming over to the baker seeling his wares he quickly bought a hearty loaf of seasoned bread, a thick slab of gingerbread for them to split, two sugar cookies and small loaf of rye bread, Grimsby's favorite. Before he could go towards Ariel, who was still looking through the different kinds of flowers while the florist smiled kindly at her while she watched, something sparkling caught his eyes. He turned his head towards another stand, just across the way, that was filled with most refined and expensive things, His eyes fell upon one of the smaller items of the others. Without thinking, his legs began walking over and he found himself asking how much it was worth. After less then a minute, the object was stowed safely away in his pocket, right where his full pouch of money used to be. As he finally started going over to Ariel though, something reached his ears and forced him to come to a stop.

"Prince Eric," came a call from a few feet away. Eric instantly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stick straight on end. He didn't even have to turn around to know who it was as hurried footsteps came over towards him.

Women seeking his hand in marriage for royalty and riches instead of true emotional intimacy and relationship.

Still, at the cost of his comfortableness and for the sake of his princely etiquette, he slowly turned around and faced the two women staring eagerly and, something else that made his stomach roil, at him. He recognized both of them. Lady Arabella and Dame Isabel of Glauerhaven. Arabelle was a slender, young woman with medium brown hair, a trait of the citizens of the neighboring kingdom to his, tied up in a braided bun, pale skin and sparkling green eyes that gleamed as they fell on him. Isabel had a similar figure, slightly lighter hair then her companion that was also in a bun, almost white skin and hazel eyes.

Aside from the princess of the neighboring town that he had met just recently, these two made up part of the three ladies from there he had acquainted himself with. Their first meeting had resulted in him, after politely meeting their acquaintances and speaking with them, having both of them hugging onto his arms for dear life until their fathers had called them over to speak with some handsome, wealthy bachelors, to which they immediately abandoned flirting with him towards the unfortunate men.

Now he wished that they would be called off by their sires to somewhere else and leave he and Ariel be. He quickly looked over his shoulder towards Ariel, who was still looking through each bouquet, inhaling each of their fragrant scents by the gallon full and admiring each of their bright, silken petals, one by one. Quickly turning back to the girls, he respectfully bowed at them.

"Lady Arabella. Dame Isabel," he said politely. The girls then blushed at the shock of their lacking manners and quickly tripped over themselves to reciprocate the action, doing it quite awkwardly and ungracefully he noted.

"Your highness," Isabel began, "Me and my friend here noticed you were here by yourself, and so we were wondering-"

"If you would like to accompany us on touring the rest of your kingdom," Arabelle finished, putting emphasis on the word 'your'. There he could see it. Swirling in the centers of their eyes and sparkling against the smooth, glassy surfaces. Greed. Want. Desire. Lust. Nothing so deep for wanting a true relationship and only being their for the perks and privileges of being married to a royal. Nothing that told him that these two wanted him just for who he was, just for what he was and how he was. He felt anger and irritation surge through him, but instead calmly let out a short breath and stood firmly before them.

"Thank you both for the offer, but unfortunately I have plans today with another lady," he replied. He almost smirked at the short gasps and annoyed expressions on their faces as their plan to lure him close was foiled. However, upon realizing he was still looking at them, they quickly forced smiles onto their faces and bit down on their tongues.

"Really now? That's too bad though. I'm sure we would had had much fun spending time together," Arabelle mentioned, looking up and down his chest and torso. He chewed the inside of his cheek, but did not respond. Her friend nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. Now then, where is this so-called 'lady' you've chosen to spend time with today. I believe I would've seen her beside you when we had come up to you," Isabel added. His patience was wearing thin with these two, but instead he pushed his feelings aside pointed towards Ariel, who had picked up a bouquet of lilies and was burying her face into it's perfumed flowers.

"Her," the two said in unision, disgust evident in their voices. He did not turn back to look at them, but flinched suddenly as two pairs of hands squeezed either of his arms from behind and a head lean on each of his shoulders.

"Now Eric darling, no offense, but that girl, well she's," Isabel pointed an adorned hand towards Arel, "so plain." Arabelle nodded and rubbed her head against his arm.

"Indeed. Are you sure you wouldn't want to spend the day with us, two cultured, elegant and aristocratic ladies, instead of that, that simple, ordinary commoner?"

With a firm movement, yet still gentle at the sake of the two delicate women, he pried their clingy grips off his limbs and stepped back away from them a couple of paces before turning back to face the stunned dame and lady.

"At the risk of being rude, let me correct you both by saying that Ariel is by far simple and ordinary and is by far the sweetest, kindest, most interesting women I have ever met." He paused, before adding as on final note, "And I wish you both a good day." With that he walked briskly across the cobblestone ground towards Ariel, who was handing the florist some of the silver coins and bringing the bouquet of white and gold, speckled lilies towards her face again to smell.

"Ariel," he called out and the redhead spun around towards him and thrust the flowers into his face. Instantly, he was assaulted both by a sweet scent and pollen granules up his nose. He gently pushed the bouquet away from his face and sneezed into his elbow a few times before facing her again. "I think you chose a wonderful flower bouquet."

Ariel smiled at him before, much to his shock, daringly leaned in close and planted a small kiss on his cheek. He felt his cheeks flush and he was pretty sure his face was the color of her hair right now. When he focused on her face, he saw that she had two, dark pink spots on her cheeks as well and was smiling awkwardly at her. Realizing the awkwardness she must be feeling right now, he quickly shot a warm smile her way, then lifted up her hand to his lips and planted them on top. Her other hand came up to her mouth and her finger curled before her lips, hiding her lips, but not the smile that he could see come across her face.

* * *

A few minutes later, the two found themselves in a more lively part of the town where several musicians were laying a cheerful tune and people had chosen partners and were dancing around with them. Ariel was awestruck at the people moving almost effortlessly and gracefully across the ground in sweeping and elegant movements. She then looked towards Eric, who was watching them too before his face turned and looked at her. Taking a sudden step backwards, he then bowed before her and lifted up his hand for her to take.

"Care to dance," he asked. She nodded excitedly and grasped his fingers, though she had little idea of how humans danced in comparison to her own people's methods. Still, in her excitement, she was prepared to do anything right now.

Eric was stunned at how fast of a learner Ariel was at learning to dance. After a few clumsy and misplaced steps, she finally caught on and was, by far, the most graceful and beautiful dancer he had ever seen. Her legs seemed perfectly made for dancing. Several people and their partners came off the floor to watch the two dance, but soon everyone had moved to the sidelines to watch the prince and his mysterious, marvelous dancer friend twirl, sway and dip on the most charming set of legs and dainty toes that none of them had ever seen before. Hand in hand with her partner, she moved as lightly as a bubble and as softly as moonlight on the water. When the song had finished, the crowd that had gathered to watch clapped for the both of them.

Eventually, Eric showed her back to the carriage, all ready and set for them to get on once more. Handing Ariel the food for the place he wanted to show her where they would picnic, he took the reigns once more and started driving out of the town. The cobblestone paths soon turned to smooth concrete before turning into a dusty, slightly rough road as they headed into the forest border-lining the shore.

As they crossed several of the more smoother parts of the path, Eric turned and offered the reigns to Ariel, letting her drive if she wanted to. She didn't have to be told twice, or once for that matter, as she immediately took the reins from him and swapped the food and flowers to him and cracked down hard on the reins. Eric grasped on tight to both his seat and the bundles as the horse whinnied and charged forward at a faster speed as the driver apparently told it now to run recklessly all about. The carriage bumped around as Ariel's sudden urge for speed and adrenaline was discovered. To his shock, they soon came across a gap in the land where a river was coming out into the ocean, yet there was no bridge anywhere in sight and Ariel was racing towards it.

After a sensation of nothing underneath and a large thump, Eric soon found himself down underneath his seat, still miraculously holding onto the bundles. Slowly pulling himself back onto his chair, he looked out in front of them and saw that they were back on the path and at a brisk trot once more, heading towards the spot he pointed out. Deciding since there was no more gaps or anything else that could pose a threat, Eric leaned back and relaxed as he let Ariel finish driving them the rest of the way to their special picnic spot in the setting light of the sun.

But after this, he wasn't going to let Ariel do anymore driving until he had properly taught her how to do it that couldn't endanger them in any possible way.

* * *

 **In the film, before the drowning scene, Grimsby does mention the princess of Glauerhaven as one of the people Eric turned down, so I decided to use that town name for Arabelle and Isabel. I like to think that one of Eric's motivations for finding Ariel in the film and before that searching for someone he truly loves and loves him back to marry him was probably due to him having his heart broken or feeling betrayed because of women trying to get him for his status and wealth. I've seen this kind of person, the fawning gold-digger, in many works of fiction and film, so coming into this though albeit before confusing, really seemed accurate for this film. It also explains Eric's determination and desperation to find someone like that, and apart from possibly being taught the meaning of true love and that from a fake, it's logical-sounding enough for his character.**

 **By the way, I also know that in the film it was two loaves of bread, a pair of boots, a hat and a bouquet of pink flowers with lots of leaves that were bought and then lost on the ride, but I have full right to change it is I want. I kinda felt bugged by that scene growing up and watching it, though I guess that's just my nitpicky side talking. One more thing, if anyone can guess what Eric's bought after getting the food, you will get a suggestion of yours placed in my story. Try to be specific, but I look forward to what you guessed.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review if you liked it and I'll see you again next time soon. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	7. In the Lagoon

**Chapter 7: _In the Lagoon_**

 **I know the last chapter was pretty short, mainly due to my sudden change in plans for how this will go, but now we have one of my favorite love scenes in all of Disney history; the lagoon scene. Let more shipping commence!**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

After sharing the pastries and bread in their own secret picnic spot, Eric then showed her a surprise he had planned. As the sun set below the sea and the twilight set in, Eric brought out a rowboat and began rowing towards another secret place, a simple place near the shore. An inward curve had eroded into the land, creating a quiet strip of land full of tall grasses, reeds and tropical flowers that lead out into the water. Weeping willows and other trees grew close to the sea too and waterfalls gently poured their contents which mingled with the salty fluid. The deepening pink clouds on the horizon reflected their pale light onto the ripples.

Ariel's eyes were all focused on the scenery and man rowing their boat out further into the water. He offered to teach her how to row, but seeing as she tired quickly in just a few minutes he took back them for the rest of the ride. She had seen places like this back when she had a tail and lived in the sea, but never had she experienced it at the time of day and above the water. She noted how smoothly the boat went across the water, gliding softly yet swiftly across the surface.

The atmosphere at this was tranquil as the evening time came in and slowly was easing into the night. The soft light and graying landscape sent a peaceful, content feeling over her. Aside from the sound of the water splashing around them and the faint chirping of crickets of the shore, the water was completely quiet.

Which is why the both of them flinched horribly and felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand straight up as a loud, raucous squawking came from somewhere nearby.

"Wow," Eric commented as they rowed under a tree branch, "somebody should find that poor animal and put it out of its misery."

Looking up she could see Scuttle in his...interesting form of musical _pleasantries_. The seagull's voice sounded watery as he tried to sing, but only succeeded in making her and every other living, sentient thing nearby cringe painfully. As she looked up and saw him wink at her with an 'a-okay' gesture, her head fell down into her hand, feeling mortified at his good-intentioned, but failed attempt.

Thankfully though, the cacophony didn't last much longer and all of a sudden, something else came forth into their ears. The whistling of the wind through the reeds sent shivers down their spines along with the sudden softer and more mellifluous cricket chirps. The light tapping from something from somewhere settled their startled forms back down.

The oars were set aside as the rower let the small current take care of the boat's direction. His head was rested on his knuckles as he rested his tiring muscles and his eyes fell upon Ariel searching her surrounding. A smile began spreading across his face as he noted how lovely her features were then tinted by the pale pink light of the sunset. Red hair that fell in full locks down to her shoulders looked so soft that he wished to brush them back and run his fingers through them. Her eyes reflected the light coming off the rippling water, causing them to gleam and sparkle. Her ruby lips were plump and full and he imagined himself coming closer to her, holding her gently, yet tightly to him and then...

 _"You wanna kiss de girl."_

His head flew up and to the side, cheeks growing warm as he searched for the voice he swore had been whispered into his ear just now.

"Did you hear something," he asked, oblivious to the groups of creatures all around, singing just for them. Ariel simply smiled and shrugged. She knew of the music softly playing in the background, though wasn't all too aware of the plan being put into motion right now. She combed her fingers through her tresses, untangling knots while also avoiding eye contact as the words of romance became clear in her line of hearing.

As she completed the task, a little too quickly for her expectations, her eyes turned up and they met his. He gave a warm smile at her and she reciprocated and sat more straight to look at him directly. Their heads began to lean in towards one another and they could feel each other's warm breath tickle their chins. They grew closer and closer, heads titling in and lips beginning to purse up as if to touch the other's.

Ariel eyes began to shutter close as she prepared to make contact, only to flutter back open as Eric leaned back suddenly and began rowing once more. His eyes fell to the side as a feeling of awkwardness, mortification and some, okay, a lot, of regret swept over him. He looked down to avoid his humiliated face away from the disappointed girl before him.

The light slowly faded into grey and the landscape around them started blurring as night began to steal itself in. Eric kept focusing on rowing while Ariel's head fell back into her palm and she tried to look at and discern the objects in the landscape. Eventually, the pale colors of the sky transformed into a deep blue, tinted by the light of the bright, full moon. Scattered stars appeared in the velvety cloth of night and twinkled down at the world. Moonlight fell down upon the water, turning it into a path of smooth, gleaming brilliance that the couple slowly floated across.

"You know, I feel really bad not knowing what happened to you, Ariel," he said suddenly, drawing her attention back towards him. He set the oars back down again, sat up straighter and leaned in to grasp her hands. "I know I wasn't there and I don't understand how your world does in comparison to mine," his thumbs gently stroked the tops of her hands, drawing delightful shivers from her, "but maybe I could guess what happened."

At the small smile of granted permission, he released his hold and leaned back comfortably as thoughts raced through his mind. "Did you drink a potion that turned you human?" He chuckled at the look of disgust on her face. "Okay, no? Alright then, how about... you paid a price for it?" He brightened up as she gave an enthusiastic nod.

"Okay, so you paid a price to become human. So, who did you pay to become human? And why?" He either was too absorbed in his thoughts or his eyes weren't looking hard enough, otherwise he would've taken notice of her flinching and startled expression.

"Was it your family?"

He then looked up towards her again and bit his lip as he took in the sorrowed expression on her face. He realized then what he had said and how it might had offended and saddened her. _"She must really miss them,"_ he thought, beginning to catch the feeling of loneliness himself. She had rarely talked about her family. All he really knew was that she had six older sisters and a father and that her mother had died when she was young. Perhaps it was one of the reasons he related to her. He had lost his both parents at a young age, aboard a sailing vessel to a royal summit that ended up breaking apart in a storm, leaving him in the care of Grimsby and the rest of the castle's staff. He knew that since they were still under the sea while she was up here on land must make her miss then a ton.

His hand reached out to grasp her hand again and his thumb stroked it. "I'm sorry, Ariel," he apologized, "I don't need to know who did this too you or why this happened, I just want you to know I'm glad youre here with me." Her eyes looked back up at him and she gave a reassuring smile at him. A warm grin fell upon his lips and he let out a small sigh in relief that she wasn't too hurt by it. His other free hand lifted up and gently cup the side of her face, repeating same action as the other hand. Her eyes fluttered close and she let out a shuddering breath as she leaned into his warm touch. His smile grew wider as he saw her enjoying the gentle gesture.

 _"She did it for you."_

He flinched back, though his hand never left her face as he searched around the boat for the owner of the voice. "Did it for me," he repeated. He felt rubbing in his hand and his line of vision turned to see her nodding against his palm.

"You did all this for me," he asked, feeling a rush of blood come up to his cheeks. Again she nodded. A bit of blush came into her cheeks as she smiled sweetly at him. His felt his words catch in his throat and he could only stutter out his thoughts until he regained his composure as he stared at her and grasped her hands gently. "Well, um, well, I uh, I-I'm really flattered that you did this for me, Ariel. A-and I'm glad you're here now," he paused then added, "with me." She nodded and continue smiling prettily at him.

As the two became lost staring in each other's eyes, they did not notice as their little rowboat began drifting into a little cave hidden behind some hanging curtains of moss that were pulled away by some storks before letting it drop back behind them. The boat started drifting slower before finally coming to a stop and beginning to turn around as small splashes came up all around them. The darkness of the cavern then became illuminated with the soft, twinkling glow of fireflies as they surrounded the space around them. Fish rose up near the sides of the boat, squirting out water which reflected the light of the tiny insects.

In the atmosphere of the world around them, they could only see, hear and sense each other. It was as if now they were in their own world, isolated from the rest with just them in it. Ariel could only see Eric, with his strong, yet tender form, his handsome, gentle face and his kind heart. Eric could only see on Ariel her gorgeous features, her sweet personality and her loving, beautiful heart. In his own, he could feel a stirring from deep inside it and he could not deny the feelings any longer.

His head began leaning closer to hers. In the heat of the moment, it felt right. His hands gripped her tighter and began pulling them closer towards him. Her own head started to lift up and come nearer to his, feeling the right time to try again as well. Their necks craned so that they could reach each other. Right then, nothing else mattered. Just each other. Their eyes began to shout close and their lips puckered up to touch one another's.

In a single moment, a shock of electricity shot up his spine and a feeling of warmth rushed over him as they made contact. A split second later, their eyes widened in shock as the boat suddenly tipped far enough that it sent both of them into the cold water.

Birds and other creatures fled the scene as they felt the fear of being too close to the humans to be comfortable. As the two struggled to adjust themselves, Ariel could only remain still and numb that the feeling of the brief kiss spread out from her. Her legs felt rather prickly, like thousands of tiny needles were being jabbed into them. She wasn't sure if her legs had fallen asleep and the blood rushing through her veins again, the icy coldness of the sea or maybe the tiniest moment of the kiss was causing it.

She broke out of her stunned stupor as seawater suddenly flooded her mouth and her nose came under the water.

"Whoa, hang on," Eric said, noticing her and darting forward to help the struggling, former mermaid from going under. "I've gotcha. I've gotcha. Just keep keeping your head above water and I'll get us back to shore." All of a sudden. She felt a mixture of embarrassment, sadness fear and upsetness come over her. Irritation and mortification came above the rest due to that she was no longer swimming as fluidly or gracefully as she had been before just two days ago, as well as the romantic moment with Eric had just died. She had swam in the ocean all her life and almost drowning now brought back feelings of sadness that she was no longer part of the sea.

Fear came last as flashes of her first emerging out of the sea as a human being, only to find she could not breath unless she was at the surface and that she was unable to swim without the help of her friends guiding her. It sudden increased tenfold as something suddenly wrapped around each of her legs and pulled her downwards, forcing her out of Eric's hold and deep underwater.

Her eyes immediately shut as saltwater stung them. She tried to kick away from whatever was dragging her down, but whatever it was had a firm grip and was not letting go so easily. As her feet suddenly touched the rocky seafloor and the seaweed growing around it, she was released and thrust down onto a rock. She slipped down and her mouth inadvertently opened, letting out all the air she had. Her arms reached out and waved wildly to try and come up for air, but she then realized fearfully her foot had caught on in a crack between two of the stones.

She felt a steady numbness rise up inside her. She blindly tried kicking and batting her arms around, trying to get herself free, but she could not escape. Her lungs began to ache for oxygen and her head throbbed in pain as she still struggled to come up. She felt her mind beginning to drift and lose consciousness. Before everything blacked out completely, she felt something tightly wrap onto her wrist and start pulling. Then she passed out.

* * *

In another part of the sea, a cecaelia watched with irritation and some relief at the human prince standing up while carrying an unconscious girl out of the water as a pair of eels wrapped tails with one another and shook in a congratulatory manner while softly cackling.

"Nice work, boys. That was a close one. Too close. She almost had him that time," the sea witch said as, banging her fist against the edges of her loft. "Oh, that little tramp! Ooh, she's much better than I thought. At this rate, he'll be kissing her by sunset for sure. And that cannot happen!"

She swam over to her collection of potions and other magical objects and seized several of them while knocking many of them down onto the floor where they crashed and broke. "Well, it's time Ursula took matters into her own tentacles," she announced as she threw them into her cauldron with bursts of smoke and light when they hit. "Triton's daughter will be mine. And then I'll make him writhe. I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook."

She swam up above her cauldron and in an instant she was surrounded by a great golden sphere. Grasping her shell necklace close, it glowed and wisps began coming out of it, slowly advancing to her mouth where it flowed in while she cackled. Her form began thinning out and shrinking. Tentacles retreated and combined together until a pair of legs formed. White haired turned to white and purple skin to tan. Her black skin around her body became a black dress as Ursula transformed.

Unfortunately for her, in another part of her lair, on a covered, glass podium, the glowing, gold scroll with Ariel's signature suddenly flickered. The signature started fading for a moment before returning. And had Ursula been watching she would've seen a small crack began to come down from the top and stop a few inches in as the contract started to become void and the spell permanent.

* * *

 **Oh ho ho. A plot twist. Sorry about the delay, I had some trouble trying to figure out how to approach this chapter as well. I didn't want to copy the scenes word for word and exactly how it was, that be plagiarizing and I don't want that. Still I want there to be familiarity between the film and my story, so I bet you guys can understand the struggle here. Also this helps me continue with my plans, as I now know what to do now for the next chapter.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed my chapter, please leave a review and I'll see you again next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	8. Worries, Concerns, and Feelings

**Chapter 8:** ** _Worries, Concerns, and Feelings_**

 **Last chapter Ariel almost drowned because of Flotsam and Jetsam. And it's around that part of the movie too, so I bet you know what to expect. Or do you? Let's see how it will go, shall we? Oh, and this is the chapter for the reveal of the object Eric bought for Ariel. Thank you all who guessed. My apologies again for the lateness, but I am being slammed with school work and added things in life that I need to get done is making me stressed. This story or my other ones aren't far from my thoughts though.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The second Eric returned back to the castle, he was instantly greeted by the worried castle staff. His outing with Ariel had apparently taken much longer then expected. Once the castle staff saw what had happened and heard to the story, they immediately set to work to take Ariel from him and assist her. Carlotta instantly prepared a warm bath for the both of them and alerted the castle's medics to look over Ariel to make sure she was fine.

Eric had changed into a soft pair or pants and shirt after his bath and now paced in his room, worriedly anticipating any news of Ariel's health. He instantly turned around once he heard a knock at his door and swiftly crossed the room to open it. Grimsby stood at the door, dabbing his forehead with his handkerchief which he promptly folded back up and placed into his coat pocket as he looked before him.

"Grim. Ariel? How is..."

"She's awake and well Eric, rest assure. However, the doctors said cold seawater did give her a bit of a cold and her forehead is a bit warm, but other then that, she well," Grimsby explained. Eric bowed his head and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness," he murmured, before looking up again. "May I go see her?" The man stared at Eric quizzically before giving his response.

"Um, Eric. Might I remind you that you are in your pajamas." Warmth rushed to Eric's cheeks for a brief second, but he shook his head in reply.

"I don't care, Grim. Please, let me go see Ariel. I want to see, with my own eyes, that she is okay," he pleaded. Grimsby stared at the young man's eyes, noting the desperation and worry they held. His years of taking care of and serving Eric had given him the ability to understand what he was feeling and what is heart was saying. As he looked at Eric, he could see the fires of determination and concern towards the girl that, while he had only known for two days now, Eric truly cared for. It made his heart warm to see him so dedicated to someone other then to those who had raised him.

"Very well, but be quiet and make it short. I'm not sure if she'll even has enough energy to stay awake to see you now," he replied. The statement at the end fell upon deaf ears as Eric unexpectedly reached over to hug him before saying a quick 'thank you' and started speed-walking down the halls.

* * *

The maidservants, doctors, and Carlotta were just leaving the room when Eric arrived. After managing to convince them to let him come in and dismissing them for the night, he stepped into the warmly lit room. He looked over and saw Ariel cuddled up with several, warm blankets and comfy pillows. Her head was in her hand as she made a miserable face, but as soon as he entered she perked up and smiled.

"Ariel," he called out softly and crossed the floor towards her side. When he got to her bedside, he reached out and grasped her hand, stroking it softly with his thumb. She shivered under the soft touch and her eyes fluttered close.

"How are you feeling," he asked. His response was a silent cough into her elbow and mock pout with her bottom lip trembling. He chuckled. "Oh, you're fine. By tomorrow morning you'll be well enough to join me on a walk around the town again," he said, smirking at her. Her mouth opened and her body began trembling as she laughed. He joined in, providing the cheerful sounds for the both of them.

Eventually they stopped and Eric looked at Ariel. He could feel the warmth rush to his cheeks as he gazed upon her face. The soft light from the candle gave her skin a golden glow. Her cheeks were rosy from the fever, yet despite her slightly sweaty skin and tired eyes, he felt as if he was staring at the incarnate of innocent beauty himself. He could feel his heart beating heavy in his chest, so hard he swore he could see the left side of his chest vibrate with each thump. He felt heat rush to his stomach and he felt drawn to her.

Automatically, he drew himself onto the bed and sat down, grabbing her fingers gently. She stared at him quizzically and he could tell if she could speak there would be a question just right on her tongue. The room was silent except for the flickering candle flame and their soft breaths, but in Eric's mind there was another sound. A sound accompanied by an ache towards the girl in front of him. The moment was right. It was just them. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful. It was time now.

"A-Ariel," he asked, his voice just above a whisper. He dipped his head down slightly and scooted closer to her so he could fully hold her hand. "There's something I want to tell you." She had her full attention on him. His skin bristled with goosebumps despite the temperature of the room. He felt a stone pop down to the pit of his stomach. His mouth and throat felt dry and his eyes wanted to avert themselves from her gently piercing eyes, yet his will wavered over his fear. He inhaled deeply and fluttered his eyes close for a moment before straightening up and meeting her gaze.

"E-Ever since I met you Ariel, I felt as if I've had this connection to you. Ever since I first saw you after you had saved me from drowning in the storm, I've held these feelings towards you." His thumb stroked hers as he continued, "Whenever you're away, you're all that I think of. Whenever you are here with me, I can't help but feel this way towards you." Her mouth opened a bit and her eyes widened, yet he had already started and he would finish it.

"Whenever I think of you, I feel warm inside my heart. When I see you or when you are with me, I feel my heart race. I can't help but stare at you every time we see one another and I think to myself how beautiful you are. Both inside and out. Your kind, sweet attitude makes me happy every time you're near. Your curiosity and innocence is just beautiful. Your appearance makes my heart melt that I can't help but gaze at you. You heart is so light and joy filled that I can't help but feel drawn to you."

He had to turn his eyes away as he felt too bashful to look at her while explaining the last part. "I guess what I'm trying to say Ariel is that I want you everyday in my life. I love you as my friend, but more. I want you to be my friend, my soulmate, my lover, my-," his voice caught in his throat, yet he forced through the lump, "my wife. It's been killing me that I've been holding this all back, but..."

His head tilted up and cobalt orbs opened back up to look at her through a thin veil of blurry tears.

"Ariel. I love you."

He blinked rapidly to look past the wet, salty liquid and at Ariel. Her free hand was over her mouth and she was staring with sparkly eyes, glistening with unshed tears. He felt dread fill his place of the stone as he feared he had upset her instead.

"Ariel, I-"

Her hand fell as a tear streamed down her cheek. A wide smile graced her face and he realized she was crying tears of joy. Her head then rapidly bobbed up and down and she suddenly launched towards him. His arms barely had time before she landed on his lap. He let out a joyous laugh that he didn't realize was caught in his throat and his head looked down at the redheaded maiden nestled against him. Her face looked up towards his and he felt his heart beat in happiness as the same feelings that he felt of joy, longing, happiness, and most of all, pure, whole love, shone out throughout her face.

His free hand that wasn't wrapped around her back came up to her face and he gently cupped the side of her face. Her own came up and pressed gently against his cheek. His eyes fluttered and he could not stop and small moan as he felt the soft, warm hand against his skin. His head dipped and began coming in close to hers. His half-closed eyes started to close as he felt her warm breath mingle with his. He felt her hand shift on his face as she slowly leaned towards him as well.

All of a sudden, he could hear a voice. A soft melody as smooth as silk floated in a caressed his ears and soothed his mind. He felt his hairs bristle at first, but then gently come back down as he felt completely relaxed at the song. He felt his thoughts begin to dissipate as he felt into the grasp of the golden, drawing voice. His mind felt like it was surrounded in the middle of the ocean, silent except for the sound of the music echoing inside of it. He felt his heart settle in his chest, but then resume it's hard thumping as it yearned for the singer's presence. The feeling spread up to his mind and every last one of his thoughts disappeared. All but that of finding and being with the owner of the v-

His eyes widened back open and the yellow glow that replaced the blackness of his pupils vanished in a flash, leaving only a spark behind which quickly died. In the depths of his mind, he became aware of the owner of the voice that was singing the song. The tune's familiarity rushed back to him and he focused on her right before him, eyes closed and still leaning closer to his face.

The music suddenly seemed to flood his brain again, but instead of a gentle flow like before, it now tried to force itself through like overflowing water in a breaking dam trying to hold it back. The notes seem to jab into his brain like knives and the voice no longer felt as sweet as honey like before, but demanding and painful as it tried to pull him back. It sounded so familiar, he recognized the voice, but... but he could not recognize the owner. Ariel was right before him, but her lips were pursed and not wide with notes flowing through it.

He felt the song now move to his heart and he felt a pain ache coming on, as if someone had grasped onto it along with his mind and were trying to pull it out. The once soft, soothing melody had turned into a torment of achingly beautiful, yet painful series of noises. His mind tried to focus on Ariel before her, yet the hold on his mind was trying to pull him away from any thought of her, as if it was trying to prevent him from being with her.

His lungs shakily let out the air inside of them and his arm wrapped around her tighter until she was fully pressed against hiss chest. His arms suddenly burned with pain and fatigue and they felt like someone had stuck tacks into the muscles. He felt excruciatingly tired and he felt like falling back, off the bed, and laying limp on the floor like a broken puppet. Yes, that is what he felt like right now. He felt like a puppet who was trying to resist having strings tied onto it. And through that struggling, there was a goal he tried to reach. The girl who the voice was messing with him to take him away, to keep him away, to make him forget her name and hurt her.

 _"A... A... Ari-"_

His brain nearly gave out and gave in as his thoughts tried to form the name that was on his tongue and he knew was on his heart. The warmth in his heart still there, the warmth he felt towards her.

 _"She saved me."_

A faint image of the sunlight behind a shaded silhouette of a girl right above him came to mind.

 _"She makes me feel warm just by thinking about her."_

The words felt true in his heart. He kept repeating them in his mind even as it felt like someone had grabbed onto his brain and was squeezing painfully.

 _"I enjoy it whenever she is with me."_

The sound of waves against the shore and the silhouette of the girl surrounded by food and sitting right next to him became familiar again.

 _"I love her."_

His eyes shut tight as a pain as sharp as a double-edged sword shattered into his mind and broke his the last of his will and the last images of the girl he felt so close to.

 _"I love-"_

"Ariel," he gasped out, and their lips finally made contact. He stiffened up as another flood came over his brain, as swift and strong as the one before, but he realized it wasn't pulling him in. It was bringing clarity to his mind. Pain vanished completely from his mind and was replaced with the familiar, burning warmth as before. His heart broke through the strong, glass-like shell that had been covering it and became ablaze with fiery passion once more. Sweet euphoria flooded every one of his senses.

His hand on her cheek moved to the back of her head and pressed against her soft, red locks, deepening the kiss. They were so soft and warm, yet they were desperate to be on his. He felt her arms come up from their place on his firm, toned chest and around his neck. They fell upon his nape and her thumbs began stroking him, eliciting a delightful shiver and another moan from him. His hand on his back came up and down her nightgown, rubbing her back softly. He felt her shiver as well and pulled herself tighter to him.

He could feel her own heart vibrating against his chest. His own heart joined in and he felt a sweeping peace and satisfaction at the thumping beats in sync. He had wanted her for so long and now that she was his and him hers, he felt like he was made whole. Like two pieces fitting perfectly together, their hearts were made one.

Speaking of hearts.

As soon as the kiss broke, not as long as the both of them had wanted, the two broke apart, panting heavily for air. They both felt extremely tired right now, but the lingering energy, passion and emotions were still there. Making sure she was still securely on his lap, his hand dropped down form the back of her head and to his side. Reaching down into his back pocket he fished around the space with some difficulty and with the weight coming down on it, but his fingers finally touched the and wrapped around the curve of warm metal. Being careful, he pulled it out into the world and held out before Ariel's line of vision and arm distance.

"Ariel. I want to give you this." Her hand reached out and grasped the piece of ornate jewelry and she stared at it in awe.

A golden heart that fitted perfectly in the palm of her hand met her line of vision and replaced the light of the candle back at her. A chain that appeared to be twirled by all the tiny chains half laid in a pool on her hand and half hung limply off it. A finger came don tp gently touch the gift, feeling around it until it hit a tiny bump on the side. Her finger pressed down on it and there was a tiny click before the front of the heart swung slowly open, revealing a simple mechanism that allowed her to see what was inside.

"Eric," came a tiny whisper. A small, silver engraving was inside both sides of the heart. It was in fancy cursive writing and it said, _"To the one of I love - with all my heart."_ Such a tender, yet impactful message that touched her very heart. Eric smiled as she gazed upon with adoration and gratitude at the gift.

And it was just then that they realized...

"Ariel," Eric asked, "did you just speak?"

"E-... Eir-... Eric," she stammered. Her voice sounded weak and hoarse, but she had spoken. Real human speech with a voice. Her other hand unwrapped from his neck and clasped her throat. A second passed, then another. Then another. Then a smile as wide as a mile came across her face.

"Ariel," he said. His lashes were already becoming wet with tears again as tears of joy stung his eyes.

"Eric," she replied. Her voice was just above a whisper, yet no words could meet the absolute joy they felt. Their heads came in again and they pressed their lips hard against the others, resuming the sweet bliss that flowed over them.

Unbeknownst to the new couple, they were not aware of the two people, a man and a woman, outside of the door, who quickly moved out of the room and were now grinning at each other like idiots, and the small, red crab that had crawled into a knothole and was not hopping up and down in excitement while squealing joyfully into his claw.

* * *

Outside the castle, out on the sandy shore where the cold night air began blowing fog from the sea and onto the land, a woman in a a cloak and long dress stared up angrily to the singular lit room in the castle. Her face bore an expression of shock and pure hate as one of her hands clutched the shell necklace around her neck. The light from the full moon revealed the jagged hole that broke out on the surface and crack surrounded it. What once was gold and glowing was now nearly transparent and empty.

In her other hand, hanging limply against her side, was a tattered piece of parchment. Like the necklace, it no longer glowed gold, but now was as grey, dead and broken like its counterpart. Torn edges that almost sliced through the paper were everywhere. The writing was no longer legible and it peeled off and turned to dust in some parts. But the biggest damage of all was right in the middle where a huge empty hole with a crack surrounding around it. A tear from the top reached all the way down, completely shattered through the surface.

The spell had been broken, and with it the contract too. It had become as null and void as the necklace with the payment had become. Now the voice had broken out as the deal had cracked and returned back to its rightful owner.

Behind the woman, two eels surfaced from the water. They stared with fearful expressions at their mistress. Like a boiling undersea volcano, they knew that her silence was the calm before she exploded.

True to their belief, the woman suddenly flung up her head and screamed. The two ducked their heads under the water and swam back away from the shore to evade being part in the crossfire of her tantrum and to avoid the assault on their ears as strings of vile curses were yelled out into the night. They had just managed to duck behind a rock hen the world above suddenly glowed red.

Soon black scorch marks appeared across the sand, still steaming from the fire magic. Across the beach and waves lay scattered pieces of a broken shell and scraps of worn and already beaten parchment paper blew across the wind before falling onto the sea here it dissolved in a matter of seconds.

 _"So she thinks she's out into the clear, now does she?"_

The enraged woman charged full-throttle into the waves. As soon as she hit the surface, her body glowed in a black miasma and when she had completely submerged, she had turned back into her white-haired, purple-skinned and octopus-tentacled self.

 _"She think she's won. She thinks she's gotten out of the deal, now hasn't she?"_

Her form half crawled along the bottom, half swam until she could see her home in the distance.

 _"She thinks she's so clever, having evaded and outwitted me at every turn."_

After snapping her tentacles and eels at a few polyps as she made her way past them, she rushed into a corner of her house. A hole was in a certain spot, hidden by a rock and the darkness of her home. She tossed the rock away and pulled out a chest and thrust the heavy lid open.

 _"Well, we'll see about that."_

Out she pulled a bottle. The bottle was about the size of her palm, made of pure, obsidian glass, and the stopper on top was designed to look like a white skull, complete with two little black gemstones for the empty eye sockets.

Taking great caution with the ominous container, she slowly made her way over to her cauldron and placed it in. She then hung over her cauldron while her pets dove behind a corner, fear ridden across their faces.

White light summoned from her hands as everything around it seemed to grow dark, as if the light was absorbing more of the light then sending it out. Her hands raised above her head before they connected, forming an energy sphere above her. A white orb with a black, sparking center with purple streaks around it gathered and began growing.

Her hands forced down, sending the sphere down as well and into the midst of the claw-rimmed basin. As soon as the energy reached the bottle, the room exploded with a sinister lavender light. The twins wrapped their tails around each others and buried their heads against one another's as the light and sound coming from the room became excruciating. And what more was the sound of their mistress's maniacal laughter above it all.

* * *

 **Welp, Ursula failed. You think that mysterious bottle with the skull stopper is just something she takes to calm down when she's in a rage, yet it has to be heated just right by a powerful, energy orb?**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I can't guarantee when the next one will come out, considering how much school work has been assigned to me lately, but I promise to stick with you guys till the very end and I hope you'll do the sane to me. Please leave review if you like the chapter and I'll see you again next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	9. Hearts Joined

**Chapter 9: _Hearts Joined_**

 **Hey guys, sorry for the really lack of inactivity. School is a main factor, but me and my lack of motivation are the real problems here. So anyways, did I surprise you with that plot twist last chapter or what? I want to thank you all for the positive feedback on the chapter last time. I was kind of unsure how my confession/romantic scene would go, since I'm not very adept at doing them, but I'm glad you guys enjoyed it anyways. Anyways, with another nefarious plot from Ursula, who knows what it will do? Oh wait, I do.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Early morning sunlight trickled through the window panes and lit up the room. On top of the soft, pink fabric bed laid the little, former-mermaid. Her head fell upon the pillow by the headboard and her red locks seem to spread out and form a kind of halo around it. Her arms were wrapped around the cushion, pulling it close and securing her comfort on the bed.

Beside her, curled up in a small ball, was a red crab that was also deep in the arms of sleep. A slight breeze came into the room, gently coming over the two and stirring them from their slumber.

The sound and flap of excited wings entered the room and a bird flew into the room, eagerly calling out to them. The two's minds were foggy as his words tried to pierce through to them and they slowly pulled themselves out of their sleeping positions. The blurry form of a seagull standing on the bedpost and calling out excitedly to them soon broke them from their dazed states.

"Ariel! Ariel, wake up! Wake up" Scuttle yelled. His wings outstretched and took hold of her limp hand, pulling her up into a sitting position. "This is your third day and you still need to get the prince to kiss ya!"

After yawning and stretching, the crab beside Ariel's head asked, "What is this idiot babbling about," before he curled up again to try to resume his sleep.

"Right," Scuttle replied, coming over and nudging his shell, before turning back to Ariel. "As if you two forgot? Well let me remind ya, you guys need to get Ariel to kiss the prince before sunset an' she gets a tail again. Now listen up, I got a couple of ideas-"

"Actually Scuttle, I've already kissed Eric," Ariel said softly. A smile came across her face at the sound of her own words coming out clearly and audible into the world.

"Well that's great kiddo, and it's great that you've got your voice back too, but we need to-," the seagull paused abruptly, turning his head back to Ariel and twisting it to the side and staring at her. A second passed. Another second. And another one.

His eyes widened with realization and he quickly bounced over to Ariel and hugged her head in joy. "Congratulations, kiddo, we did it! I knew you had it in you."

"Thank you, Scuttle. I'm just so happy to have my voice back and to be with Eric forever now," she replied. His wings quickly patted her shoulder and he nodded.

"Well I'm happy for ya, kid. For you and him and your voice." His head then turned to Sebastian and he came over and noogied him back into consciousness. "And you. Great job too, I knew you could do it."

"Get off of me," Sebastian said, muffled against feathers that were pressing very close to his mouth. Thankfully, the seagull released him before he could start choking on them.

"Well, I'm off to tell Flounder, in case he doesn't know already." As he flew towards the window, he perched down on the railing and turned back to her. "Oh, and by the way, when you two get hitched, count on me being there. See ya later!"

Her hand lifted up to wave at him as a smile graced itself on her face. She then threw back the covers, stood up, reached over to pick up Sebastian and kiss his face, before heading towards the door. However, as she touched the handle, she suddenly halted, looked back to her dresser and quickly rushed back over to it. She pulled open the drawers, selected a dress, and went over out of sight to put it on. After all, it would be quite awkward of her to appear before everyone in her nightgown.

* * *

After tying the sash around her waist and straightening the bow placed in her hair, she pulled the handle open, walked out the door and quickly rushed down the hall towards the stairs. She could hear familiar voices talking with one another on the floor below. Her shoes clicked against the floor as she hopped the remaining few feet of stairs before heading towards the middle of the open room.

"Well, Eric. I am so happy for you that you have found such a wonderful person in your life to be with," Grimsby said. The two men talking quickly turned towards her and smiled. Eric's arm reached out to her, beckoning her closer. She daintily came across the floor towards him and soon found herself in his warm, gentle embrace.

"And congratulations to you as well, my dear." Grimsby extended out his hand towards Ariel and she gentle grasped it and shook it.

"Thank you, Grimsby," she said. A giggle escaped her lips as his head suddenly lifted up and he shared at her in shock. A smile then broke up on his lips as Eric joined in on the laughing.

"Oh, well, uh, it appears that you are able to speak again once more. I congratulate on this accomplishment as well."

"Glad to hear that and to finally respond to someone now," she replied, drawing more chuckling from the group. Once it had quieted down a bit, Eric then turned to Grimsby.

"Hey Grim', I know my upcoming coronation is coming up and the," he paused, "ahem, deadline is approaching and," his voice became the tiniest bit softer, "I think I've made my decision now." His head nodded subtly over towards the girl in his arms. Grimsby's eyes opened more and his jaw fell down a bit, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded.

"Oh. Oh! Well, um, er, t-then I should probably leave you two two be for a bit. I should, um, check on how the staff is doing. I will see you two later," he said, and with a few strides he was out of the room.

* * *

The waves crashed against the steps leading down to the sea, washing foam onto the marble. The mid-morning sunlight glinted off the water, causing rippling reflections upon the surface. The two took off their shoes and placed them at the two of the stairwell before coming down to the water's edge and allowing the seawater to come over and cover their bare feet. The cool water sent chills up their spines, but it felt comfortably nice.

"You know, my parents used to take me down here," Eric finally said after a few minutes of silence. "He used to tell me stories of the sea and what things are out there."

"Did he tell you any stories about merpeople," she asked, treasuring the clear sound of her voice back again. He smirked as he stared out onto the water.

"I think I can remember him saying something about far out in the ocean and deep beneath the wave's crest, far deeper then any anchor could ever go, down there live the seafolk. They live in an underwater world, much like ours, but with fish instead of birds and great buildings made of coral and seashells." His voice had become a hushed whisper, as if he was trying to recall exactly how he had imagined it younger. He broke out of his thought at a small giggle.

"Actually, that's pretty accurate," she admitted. "Though we do have houses built of stone and not all of it is coral and seashells."

"Really? What else is there in- um, what did you call your home again," he asked.

"Atlantica. A-T-L-A-N-T-I-C-A," she spelled. "Where I lived exactly we have steep towers, winding columns, tall archways, huge dome roofs," she paused for a moment, "come to think of it, basically it was big. Bigger then your castle. Maybe even bigger than your entire kingdom." This elicited a snicker from him.

"Really. Bigger then my entire kingdom," he asked. She shot him a smirk.

"Alright, maybe not that big, but it was very large. I remembered walking through the hallways and feeling quite small in them." She drew up her knees to her chest there. "Feeling quite small and... and lonely," she admitted.

A strong arm then wrapped around her back and pulled her close to him. She shivered at his warm touch before going to lean her head against his chest. "At least your castle has staff members who talk with you and seem to care about your life." Eric frowned and began stroking her hand with his thumb.

"Not all the time. I mean they do seem to care about my life and what's happening, but not so much as to get involved. Carlotta and Grimsby at least try to get involved as much as they can, but," he let out a sigh, "I can't exactly talk to them as I would a friend like you. They're my staff, and while they are required to interact with me and, they do so most of the time of their own will, they're still not as close as I am with someone that I absolutely love to be with like you."

Bright red spots matching her hair color decorated her cheeks and she looked shyly away. He smiled and looked out onto the water. An endless sea to the horizon reflected back into his eyes. The sea, in a way, was his home. Not in a way like Ariel's people, but it was most definitely familiar to him. Like a friend. Yes, a friend.

A friend who could turn on him in an instant if he was out there at the wrong time. The memories of thunder rumbling, waves sloshing on board, and lightning streaming down from the sky onto the only piece of solid ground out there resurfaced again. The fire blasted him in the face, the force whipping against his skin. He lost consciousness from the fiery explosion and the last thing he remembered was making contact with the chilly, liquid bed of death.

He woke up, to the warmth of the sun on his skin, the sot soft of the waves, and the soft singing of someone stroking his face. It was so bright and he could barely make out the features of her face. He thought he was on heaven. After she finished singing, he felt the gentle pressure leave his body and the hand leave his face. The sunlight hurt his eyes as he moved his hand randomly, hoping to find it again. He touched it and he heard a gasp.

Breathlessly, he asked who she was. Hesitant at first, she told him her name. Her voice sounded like clear, glass bells and the name was like honey on his tongue. Strength came back to his body as he sat up and looked past the light to look at his savior.

She was frighteningly staring at him as he took in her appearance. He realized that it was not a human maiden that had rescued him from the grasp of the sea, but instead a maiden of the sea itself.

Noticing her fearful expression, he quickly reassured her that he meant no harm to her, especially since she had saved his life. Her worry dissipated and quickly became replaced with curiosity. She asked so many questions, none of which he could answer now in his weakened state.

His dog's barking soon reached his ears. He would soon be hear, probably with one of his staff. Quickly, he asked her to meet him again, by the willow trees near the bay. Wasting no time, she accepted, before waving goodbye and sliding back into the sea and disappearing under the waves out of sight.

That meeting became the first of many and was the start of a friendship lasting through the years. Only till recently had they begun to understand their feelings for each other. Only yesterday had they confessed their love for each other.

Now he would make it permanent.

"Ariel... I have something I want you to see."

Ariel slid out of his hold and turned to look at him. She gasped as he suddenly pulled out a small, blue velvet box out of his pocket and popped the top up. Inside the box was an gold embellished, delicate ring. A shining pearl stood upon the top while to each side was first small, glittering diamonds and then two shimmering, deep and sky blue sapphires, as deep and bright as the ocean itself.

"This ring has been in my family for five generations, passed down from one to another and now," he picked up her hand and placed it close to the box, "it belongs to you.

As she watched, he got down a step lower and bent his knee so that he was kneeling before her. The swell came in and soaked his pant legs, but he didn't mind. His focus was all upon his mermaid goddess before him.

"Ariel, will you do me the honor of becoming my queen, my lover, my wife?"

A hand was over her mouth and a tear dropped down from her eye. Her hand suddenly dropped, revealing her smile and she nodded rapidly.

"Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes," she said, before launching towards him. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he fell backwards, laughing along with her. The two came in for a passionate kiss, enveloping them both in the feeling of heavenly bliss. He took one of her hands from behind his head and plucked the ring from the box before gently slipping it onto her ring finger. Tears of pure joy dripped down from their eyes as they continued to kiss.

From up on the top of the stairwell, a servant and an adviser had their hands over their mouths and handkerchiefs to their eyes. From out on some rocks nearby, a seagull and crab started crying in joy for them while a yellow and blue-striped fish did flips in the water.

It was just so moving to see the persons they cared for so much finally together and would be forever.

* * *

 **Again, sorry for the long wait, but I hope the proposal scene partially makes up for it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave review if you like the chapter and I'll see you again next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	10. Silent Bells

**Chapter 10: _Silent Bells_**

 **Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I know I haven't been too active on this story as of late, but I fully plan to finish it and I know how to approach the rest of the chapters now. For those who rewrite a story of something but still have scenes and/or aspects from the original thing incorporated into it, here's a tip, always plan ahead. Anyways, I really hope you have an awesome day and you enjoy the new chapter.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The entire kingdom was in a frenzy trying to prepare for the wedding partaking that afternoon. The feelings of the situation at hand ranged from shocked at the sudden announcement to irritated at the amount of work needed to be done in such short notice. But one common feeling was shared, each and every one of them was happy for Eric finding his true love and that he would have a queen to rule by his side.

Bakers hurriedly assembled a huge wedding cake whilst the cooks prepared the rest of the food. Servants hurried here and there to decorate for the ceremony and the clergyman quickly prepared himself for the marriage. Even the bride and groom were scrambling to prepare themselves for each other.

As the sun began to descend in the sky and bathe the entire world in gold and orange light, the wedding ship had departed with all the guests on board and everything else prepared for. As tradition had it, because the very kingdom depended upon the ocean, it would take place on a ship to symbolize the importance of the crystal, sparkling waters below.

The bride and groom were currently in their separate dressing room aboard the ship, dressing up and adding the final preparations to themselves before the ceremony. Both had politely dismissed their servants to finish up the job themselves.

Ariel looked up into her mirror and smiled. A pretty, redhead dressed in a stunning wedding dress with puffed sleeves looked back. In her hands was the final piece of her ensemble, a sparkling wedding veil attached to a gleaming gold crown. She took a deep breath in and exhaled before lifting the piece up, swinging the veil behind her head, and gently adjusting the crown in her hair. Her eyes fell onto her reflection in the mirror.

A wave of emotions came over her and her face fell into her hands. The last time she had seen a redhead with a crown was many years ago, back in a time when her mother was still alive. Here she was now, ready to marry her love of her life and soon become queen like she was. Not only would she be marrying her true love today, but she would be following her dream since she and Eric met.

 _"A dream without my family to share it with,"_ she thought miserably. Her father, her six sisters, they wouldn't be here to see her achieve it all. The realization that she might never see them again flooded over her, forcing two small tears from the corner of her eyes. In her excitement over the past few days she hadn't realized how much she missed and would miss her family now that she would spending the rest of her life on land now. They would even know she was there, so long as no one she knew told them. She'd be leaving so much behind her just to do what her heart told her.

Her head rose out of her hands and she winced as she took notice that her makeup was running. Sniffing, she selected the handkerchief on the vanity and dabbed her face, cleaning off any messed up cosmetics. When she had completed the task, she set down the small cloth, placed both of her hands on the wood, and stared determinedly into the mirror.

"Okay Ariel. You got this. You can't let this hold you back now. You already made the choice to leave it all behind when she turned you human. You can do this. You can do this. You traded so much for this and now you're finally going to achieve what you've been after," she said.

"Oh yes, you have traded so much for this."

She gasped and quickly looked over her shoulder, scanning the room for any sign of the voice's owner. All she could see was her room with no mysterious figures anywhere in sight.

"Although I'm afraid dearie that it will never come to pass."

Her head swung back towards the mirror and another frightened gasp escaped her throat. The same redhead looked back, but beside her was a purple skinned, white haired, heavy makeup wearing, cackling woman. For a split second, she saw a glint in the woman's hand, like candlelight over the wet black rocks by the shore.

A second later her eyes shut tightly as something pricked her neck. She felt a scream die in her throat as whatever being injected into her bloodstream numbed her vocal cords. Arm still stinging and the pain quickly spreading throughout the rest of her body, she collapsed onto the floor, hand rushing to her neck. She grit her teeth as her entire body throbbed, especially her head. She felt like she had just swallowed fire and it was being pumped painfully through her.

The sound of cackling reached her ears and she forced the pain back enough to open her eyes or just a moment at the woman above her. Long sepia hair, warm tan skin, no makeup, and a... noticeably slimmer figure chuckled sadistically down at her. Despite the many differences, she knew who it was from her reflection in the mirror.

"Ur- Ursula," she gasped out, barely managing to call out her name. The woman chuckled before bending down and sliding a long, cold finger under her chin before forcing her to look directly at her.

"Hello my dear, sweet child. Did you miss me," she asked, smirking wider at the princess' gasps of air making her appear like a floundering fish out of water. Her hand moved up to her head and she began softly moving out the locks of hair out of her face.

"You really didn't think I would take to our little deal being broken well, did you? Afterall, it is rude to do something for someone and not get any payment for what they did." She turned her head down and scowled.

"You see dear, the entire deal, what with the deadline and the payment and the signed contract, all of it was never played in your favor. You really think I was genuinely trying to help you. Ha! It was all just a ruse to get back at your dear old daddy for exiling me, for stripping me of my power. You were supposed to fail, miss the mark, trip right before the end. Lose your side of the deal and belong to me permanently. Be the little pawn in my master plan to regain all that was stolen from me."

It felt like a million needles were stabbing her skin from all over. Her chest felt compressed and her heart was beginning to ache painfully. Worse her throat felt like it was swelling shut, making breathing an obstacle and speaking all but impossible. Even where Ursula's feather-like touch pressed against her skin it felt like hot knives digging into her skin.

"So with you no longer in the game, I had to move on. I had to get you under my grasp again somehow." She paused and her grin seemed to grow wider if it was possible. "And so here we are." She lifted a skull-shaped bottle up into view. With a good dose of it gone, the top of the liquid could now be seen. It glistened in the sunlight like obsidian glass, though something felt off about it. Like how roses look and smell so sweet, but underneath those bright petals are sharp thorns.

"Ever hear of 'Black Tears'?" At just more gasping, she continued. "Oh of course you haven't. They're so rare, they've even become legends in legends." She held up the bottle to her face. "You see dearie, say someone dies and the one closest to them, any mermaid or merman, feels so distraught and determined to avenge their death by it that they shed black tears of pure overwhelming rage and hate. Violent madness really. An incredible feat, though not so much as the fact that you merfolk can't even shed tears in the first place."

"My point is, dearie, these are so powerful that they fill the, mm, unfortunate person with these powerful emotions, making them lose sight of all else and bend to the savage, darker part of themselves. Even a loving, tender heart such as yours can be overcome with such negativity." She leaned in close to whisper into her ear. "So much that it can even undo and kill off true love, as well as the victim in most cases."

Ariel's eyes widened with realization. The words of the deal echoed through her mind.

 _'The kiss of true love... ...before the sun sets of the third day'._

True love was a force shared by two people. The bond between them that could overcome all, including the magic which had given her legs in the first place. If the love she had inside her died off, would the spell die off as well? Without a heart filled with love before the sun set, would the magic fail and the contract still be binding?

A fresh wave of pain and her mouth opened to scream, only to release a pitiful squeak. Her mind was already cloudy, erasing any thoughts and darkening her vision. The pain she felt both physically and emotionally worsened still, numbing her from all else. Red swirled around in her mind and the imaginings of pain, suffering, screaming, and tortures were all that appeared. And worse, she was beginning to like it.

* * *

"Ariel, are you okay in there?"

He had just completed his preparations and had came over to Ariel's door to see how she was doing. A loud thud came from behind the door, followed by unintelligible muttering. When it continued on for more than half a minute he began to grow concerned.

When he heard a tiny squeak, like a dying scream, he knew he had to get in there. Forgetting his manners for a moment, he turned the doorknob and swung the door opened. The second his eyes landed on the maid hovering over his fallen bride he charged into the room.

"What happened," he fearfully cried as he picked Ariel up and held her close.

"I just came in and found her like this, you're highness. She probably just became overwhelmed with emotion that she couldn't stand anymore," the maid replied. "How about I take care of her while you finish preparing."

"Ariel," he called out, completely ignoring the maid. Scared blue eyes looked up at him and her mouth opened and closed like a fish, yet no sound came out. She began squirming more, as if in terrible pain. He put a hand to her forehead and gasped as an inferno met his touch.

"Really your highness. I can take over if you'll just-"

The maid went reeling back in shock when the prince, in a most undignified manner, slapped her outreaching hand. He gave her a scolding look before turning back to Ariel in concern. Her eyes were shut tightly and her head was throwing back and forth. His eyes scanned across her face, searching for anything that could show what was plaguing her.

He turned towards the side of her neck and his eyes grew wide with horror. A black dot marred her clear, tan skin. Surrounding the mark was a mass of black, spider-like veins, extending at least two inches from the original spot. Her fingers dug into her arms and grew tighter and he winced as her fingernails dig into his skin.

"Ariel. Ariel! Can you hear me," he pleaded. He held on tighter as she squirmed and writhed even more, as if trying to shake off the pain. Her head was beginning to hit against his arm and she kept acting like she was trying to escape his grasp.

"Your highness. I really suggest you leave and let me handle this."

His hand slammed against the floor and he rose up, facing the maid with a furious expression.

"And I suggest you leave immediately to get the ship's doctor and leave me with her."

He came back to sit on the floor as the maid scurried off not-too-quickly. The head-banging and fingernail digging aside, she was now beginning to pant. With one arm holding her tightly and securely around her waist, he used his free hand to pull her face close to his. Tears began to stream down his face as he pressed his forehead to hers.

"Ariel... please. I can't lose you. I can't lose you, so please... don't leave me," he begged. Her body was beginning to slacken against his and her grasp was growing limp. Her eyes opened and they looked foggy as they stared unfocused.

"I don't want to lose you." His tears were beginning to fall onto her face. Her mouth opened, trying to call out his name, but nothing came out. She could only hold onto the last remaining consciousness she had, keeping staying awake for him.

"Please... no. I-I love you," he croaked out. His lips puckered up and fell on his bride's, giving her the sweetest, most loving kiss he could give. A glistening tear dripped from his eye onto her face before descending down to her chin. It broke off and landed on the black, web-like mark on her neck.

He broke off the kiss and began sobbing against her limp form, holding her tightly to him. What was supposed to be the happiest of his life was now the most saddest.

He flinched as he felt something warm press against his cheek and his eyes opened, meeting with the clearest blue eyes he had ever scene. Another warm feeling pressed against him, this time on his lips. It took a few seconds to realize what was happening before his hand flew to the back of her head and pushed her closer, deepening the kiss. Relief swept through him, knowing that she was still there and would be okay.

"No," screamed a voice from behind them. Both broke away from this kiss and their eyes turned behind them. Ariel gasped in horror as the brunette maid stood in the middle of the doorway, looking positively livid.

"You think you can win, do you," the maid seethed, her voice becoming deeper and more frightening. "Do you!?"

Her arms suddenly reached upwards and lightning flashed from her fingertips. The two clung to one another as flashes of light and tendrils of purple and black darkness swirled around her. Limbs swelled and changed their color to a gray purple. Her body burst through the maid's uniform, ripping the fabric and revealing a larger form. Black tentacles sprouted out underneath and supported her base. Lastly, her face threw forward. It bulged up, changing from an elegant, smooth one to as bulging and grotesquely decorated one, complete with a maniacal expression of blazing fury. Even from all the stories of the terrors dwelling in the depths, he was not prepared for every encountering one.

A tentacle shot out, entangling around Ariel's waist and ripping her from Eric's hold. Ariel screamed as she was yanked close towards the sea witch's furious face.

"If I can't have you as a mermaid, then I'll simply take you as you are. A worthless, insignificant, foolish human drowning at the bottom of the ocean!"

Eric got up and charged for them as Ursula began taking her hostage towards the deck. "No! Let her go! Ariel!"

The reaction from the guest onboard of a tentacled, sea monster crawling across the floor with the bride screaming and kicking in her grasp was immediate. Guests and servants alike panicked and backed away from the hideous monster. Yet Ursula had no interest in any of them. All she cared about was claiming her prize and making sure it would not slip from her grasp again.

The groom emerged onto the deck, armed with a sword from the coat of arms lining the halls. His eyes scanned, then focused on the kidnapper with his kidnapped bride. Determination and righteous anger flowed through his veins, propelling his muscles forward as fast as he could. The people onboard backed away to give him the best chance at defeating the monster.

Ursula gave a screech of shock when she felt something graze her tentacles. She paused for a moment and turned back enraged to see who had inflicted pain on her. Her eyes narrowed more and her scowled deepened at the sight of one of her own tentacles oozing black blood onto the floor while the same stuff stuck to a sword poised offensively at her. With a war cry she swatted at the offender, sending him flying back before skidding onto the ground a couple feet away.

"Eric," Ariel screamed, watching as he shakily stood back up with the help of his servants. Another tentacle wrapped around herm this time her mouth, silencing anymore concerned and worried cries.

"Shut up," Ursula screamed. She made it over to the side of the ship and her tentacles flopped over and grasped the edge before propelling her forward.

A wave of shot through Ariel's head as it made hard contact with the water. Freezing fluid encircled her body, cutting off any oxygen to her lungs and letting some escape from her mouth. A chilling numbness surged up in her, dulling her senses and slowing her movements as she was dragged deeper down. Her arm desperately reached out to the figure surrounded by the setting sun's light as he watched her descend deeper and deeper into the darkness.

* * *

 **"Cliffhanger, hanging from a cliff. That's why they call him Cliff Hanger"-Between the Lions.**

 **So what will Ursula d with Ariel now? She doesn't have any control over her due to both the contract and the poison's spell being broken, but she has a human in her grasp while several yards underwater. I promise I'll get the next chapter out much sooner so you won't have to wait. Once again, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, please review, and have a wonderful day. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	11. Darkness Rsing

**Chapter 11:** ** _Darkness Rising_**

 **Hey guys, I promised I'd put this chapter out faster and I kept to it. Just a quick thing though, there is a slight blood mention in this chapter. Nothing too extreme to make your stomach roil, probably, but just wanted to let you know.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Despite the sun setting in the sky, the water seemed to already hold the darkness of night. Shadows spread out from huge underwater rock formations, looking already menacingly to those nearby. The vastness and depth of the ocean itself only highlighted the forthcoming blackness. The darkness only grew as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. The water now seemed like an endless abyss, ready to swallow any who got caught beneath the waves.

And now the abyss swallowed her. The once gorgeous waters which she swam in with joy now only brought horror and pain. The pressure was building up all around her, squeezing her body in painfully. Her lungs ached for air and she longed to be able to breath underwater once more. The saltwater stung her eyes, even when they were closed, only adding insult to the situation she was in. What once was a familiar environment to her had aggressively turned against her.

All of a sudden, the water parted from her face. A blast of cold fluid broke off of her skin and instead something else flowed by her lips. Without a moment's hesitation, they parted and her burning lungs sucked in as much air as they could hold. The air felt like sweet honey in her mouth and slowly the pain resided in her chest. However, the immense throbbing in her head only grew as she heard cackling penetrate her bubble and a slimy tentacle pierced the fragile walls before curling under her chin. Her stinging eyes could barely make out the grinning cecaelia holding her captive.

"Poor little princess," Ursula cooed as she stroked her face, taking glee as she squirmed even more. "Don't fret. It's not you I want. Quite the contrary, I've a much bigger fish to-"

"Ursula, stop!"

A glowing triton pointed at the sea witch's throat, halting her in her tracks before the burning, pointed tips could pierce her. There before her and staring angrily was the king of the oceans himself, king Triton. His strong, sturdy stature, combined with his weapon and facial expression, made him quite the fearsome and intimidating sight. Despite his sudden appearance, she remained to keep the calm in her face and voice.

"Why, King Triton! Ha ha ha. How are you," she asked, gentle stroking the tip of his pronged fork with her fingertips and gazing lovingly at it, until he irritability held it up closer to her throat.

"Let her go," he demanded. Her facade quickly dropped and she pulled the girl into a tighter grip.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too harsh and brash when running into these kinds of things, dear Triton." She let out a chuckle and gestured to her. "You see, your daughter made a deal with me, a voice for a pair of legs for three days. She signed a contract and everything." Her face then twisted into a scowl. "However, your little brat seemed to have found and exploited a loophole, thus breaking out of deal. And so here we are now."

Triton eyes turned for a moment off the sea witch and onto his youngest daughter. Dressed in strange garb humans wore, she looked very strange. No more so were the two, thinly stumps where he beautiful, elegant tail was. She had been infatuated with the human world for quite some time now, but he hadn't expected she go this far to learn more about it.

His eyes turned back to Ursula. His grip tightened on the staff and his inner rage made it glow even brighter. "I shall not tell you again, Ursula. Let her go!"

"Now now, Triton, let's not get our beard in knots. I sincerely suggest you improve your tone with me. After all, my hold around can get rather," he winced as Ariel writhed in pain as she started to suffocate, "tight." Seeing him not lowering his triton she drew her closer to her. "And don't even think about blasting me with that oversized fork of yours. Who's to say that you won't accidentally fry your daughter in the process too."

Seeing the stakes finally made him relent and slowly lower it down a bit. He looked down at Sebastian by his tail, waited a moment, before sighing and drew nearer.

"What would I have to do to make you release her?"

The look on everyone's face was shocked to say the least, but as both Ariel and Sebastian began pleading for him to reconsider, Ursula's face drew into a sinister grin.

"Well now you're getting interesting. I want something from you that's very precious. Something that once gone, you can never regain again. And, of course, I always was a girl with an eye for a bargain." Her finger stuck out and pointed. "You and the triton. Your daughter for both."

"No your majesty, please don't," Sebastian protested, begging him to reconsider. Triton held it back up and Ursula reacted aggressively. A knife encrusted with rust and barnacles suddenly materialized in a puff of inky black smoke before being pressed at the young princess's neck.

"One more move Triton and you can say goodbye to her. You'll live the rest of the life you couldn't save her. However," Ariel gasped as the blade was pressed closer to her skin, "while the daughter of the great sea king is a very precious commodity, I might be willing to make an exchange for someone even better." She snapped and a golden, glowing contract appeared in her tentacle. It was new and unsigned, yet the words on it were quite clear.

"So Triton, do we have a deal? You for your daughter's life?"

Triton glared at her, before giving a look towards his daughter. Though the bubble made her voice silence, her expression and tears falling from her face told it all. Ever since her mother died, he had sworn to take care of her and her sisters and protect them from harm. He had taken that vow on the day and he was not about to turn away from it now,

Turning away and closing his eyes in anguish, his triton pointed at the scroll and a beam shot out of it and onto the parchment. His signature appeared at the bottom, now legally binding him to the sea witch.

"Ha! It's done then." The scroll rolled up and melded into a swirling, gold vortex that shot straight at him. Ursula laughed as it twisted around and around him. Sebastian and Ariel could only call out and watch in horror as the mighty king of the sea shrank down and became withered. His triton fell down beside him and his crown fell over him, changing to the seabed around the fallen king.

Sebastian came in close and looked sadly upon him. "Oh, your majesty." Ariel just stared in horror at her father and whispered out to him, even though he could not hear her.

"Daddy."

With no longer anyone to stand in her way, the sea witch began to chuckle as she bent down an picked up the ground before setting it up upon her own head. Her tentacles brought up to her hand and it glowed when grasped.

"At last, it's mine," she said, gazing at the glorious new power she now wielded.

"You had a deal! Let Ariel go now," Sebastian called up, turning towards her and glaring furiously. Ursula turned slightly shocked at the small crustacean's tone, before a wide grin made its way across her face.

"Ah yes. The deal," she cooed as she slunk towards the bubble-headed princess. "You see here's the thing, Triton. I said I would let her go." The king watched in horror as a hand with pointed nails started coming closer to his daughter's face.

"I didn't say I would turn her back into a mermaid."

Ariel's eyes widened before shutting tightly once more as seawater smacked against her eyelids. The pressure of the water caved in all around her. That and the freezing temperature seized up her limbs, preventing her from moving. Worst of all, the air left her lungs and they began compressing in her chest. Numbness flooded all her senses. She knew Sebastian was calling out her name while her father moaned out in fright for her, yet she could hear nothing but the deepening pressure of the once familiar world.

* * *

"Ahh!"

Wisps of black blood suddenly leaked out into the water, the way made possible by a slit in the sea witch's lilac skin. Beside her a sharpened harpoon stuck pout of the rock, just a few inches away from stabbing through a tentacle. Her head turned back and her eyes narrowed furiously at the offender. The young man who the princess almost wed glared angrily through the stinging seawater, his body posed in a defensive position.

Her lips peeled back, revealing a feral grin before she turned towards her two eel minion, just floating nearby. "After him," she barked out and they swiftly followed after him. As the prince attempted to get back to the surface to breath, they curled their long, streamlined bodies around him and yanked him back under.

All of a sudden, one let out a hiss in pain as Sebastian snapped his claw down on his tail. Meanwhile, his twin had now gotten a whacking in the face from the tail of a determined Flounder before ending with a hard slap. The pair became distracted by the newcomers and their bodies unintentionally released their captive.

"You fools," Ursula called up to them, before brandishing the triton. "If you want things done properly, then you'll just have to do them yourself."

Energy gathered throughout the weapon before materializing as a bolt of lighting that broke out from the tip, heading straight towards the floundering prince. Ursula's eyes narrowed in glee as she watched it grew closer and closer, before they widened in shock. A red and yellow, blue-striped blur had crossed before her intended target, dragging the two eels in front of the shot. They screamed out as electricity coursed through them before exploding, leaving nothing left but several scales and bits of flesh.

"Babies," Ursula's cried out, letting the triton dropped to gather up their remains and hold them close to her. She then glared maniacally up at him and a cloud of ink began to squirt out from underneath her form. They tried to curl around the weapon to once again try to cause damage to the prince...

...only for her to turn around and stare dumbfounded as the blinded, weakened princess now grasped it tightly. She tried to reach out for it again, but backed away when another beam of energy shot out of it, heading straight towards the original target. It hit its mark, but instead of the same fate that the eels had found, a visible change appeared on the prince.

A glowing, gold aura surrounded and swirled around him and his eyes nearly popped out of his head and the rest of the air in his lungs escaped as he watched a transformation take place. His pants ripped and leather boots vanished as flesh came into sight. His legs suddenly came together and fused. Unlike Ariel's change, he felt no searing pain, but t was almost like a dunk into a bath of just a little too hot temperature. Clear scales appeared across his skin before deepened in hue and changing from warm tan to a deep navy blue. Lastly, fins sprouted by his weight and at the end of his tail.

The gold, sparkly vortex dissipated and the prince's merman form stood out before everyone. As he stared stunned at his new form, Ursula took advantage of his distracted state and proceeded to yank the triton out of Ariel's weakening arms before taking a much more deadly blast at him. Luckily, his reflexes took hold and he barrel-rolled out of the way. Once again realizing his enemy and the state of danger his fiance was in, he dove down towards them. He soon realized how powerful his tail was as it shot him through the water at dizzying speeds. As the sea witch kept firing blasts at him, he dodged each one.

Flips, barrel-rolls, twists and turns, he soon made it down to her level. She swung her weapon at him before attempting to jab the ends into his chest. He swam down to the bottom and retrieved his harpoon before arming himself with it against her. Ursula might had been larger with her tentacles and a much more powerful weapon, but he had years of sword-fighting and more determination. As the weapon came down, his came up and blocked him. He caught it underneath the hilt of the fork and twisted it out of her grasp. Before she could get it back, he jabbed the pointed end of the harpoon into her arm.

As Ursula howled in agonizing pain and desperately tried to pull to hooked end from her flesh, Eric seized his opportunity to get behind her and get towards Ariel. She had stopped moving and her form drifted lazily in the water. His arm swung around her waist and pulled her close to him before his tail beat madly, propelling them both up and towards the surface. Before they ascended up he noticed the triton sticking up from the seabed and within grasp. He reached out and clenched it, instantly feeling a burst of energy and power that surged through his body before he took off strongly and swiftly.

* * *

A larger puff of black blood escaped her skin as she forcefully maneuvered the blade out. She let out a screech as she removed and tossed it to the side where to hit the seabed with a clang. Her crown had fallen off her head in the tussle and now lay beside it. As her hand went to cover the large wound on her arm, her eyes traveled towards the transformed prince taking his bride up to the surface. Her teeth clenched together so tightly they nearly cracked.

She then swung her head back furiously towards the withered sea king. He was now staring up at the two, his expression hopeful as he prayed they would get out and be safe. He cowered back in fear once he saw the much taller and bigger which grew closer to him.

"You think that you have won, don't you Triton." He saw her eyes turn read with fury and her face become ablaze with maniacal rage. "Think again! I managed to absorb enough energy from that overgrown fork of your to gain enough power."

Her tentacles then brought up three items to her hands. One was the crown and the second was the the harpoon with her blood still leaking off the top of it. The last one was a clear, skull-shaped bottle with a glittering black liquid inside it. His eyes widened fearfully as he understood what it was and watched her bring it up to her face.

"I just need a little more to exact my revenge on you, your daughter, and this entire ocean."

She uncorked it and swiftly brought it up to her lips before downing it before it could leak into the ocean. Ink clouds began to squirt out beneath her against, fogging up the water and darkening his view of the world. Through the murky water he could see flashes of yellow electricity the lowly turned to green before he sensed the shadows around him growing darker and darker. He quickly sent out a silent prayer to Oceanus himself that everything would turn out alright in the end.

* * *

Air flooded his lungs and he panted for a moment as they adjusted to the seemingly much cooler temperature. He looked down his his love and desperately tried to hold onto her and keep her head above the waves while also trying to hold onto the triton. His hands clumsily fumbled on her face as he tried to her to become responsive and start breathing.

His heart nearly leapt out of his chest when he saw began coughing and spitting out water as she dispelled it from her lungs. She weakly grasped onto his shirt with her fingers and leaned her head against his broad chest. Her wedding dress was torn to shreds, with just a few pieces of fabrics clinging onto her. He held her tightly in his embrace, fearing if he slackened his arms just for a moment she would slip away from him again.

"E-Er-"

"Shh, Ariel. Don't try to talk or move," he replied, gently pushing her mouth closed. "I've got you. We'll get out of this safely. Together."

"No, p-please," she half-choked, half-whispered out. "You've... got... away.. from here."

He just shook his head firmly and pulled her closer. "No. No, I won't leave you."

All of a sudden, the world around them trembled. The waves began to ripple and the space between them bubbled and began to glow. She clung to him, but soon found herself being forcefully pulled away. She soon found herself holding onto dear life on a gold cone rising out of the ocean. Her head looked to the other side where Eric was doing the same,then down where she swam in horror, a now monstrous-sized Ursula cackling deeply and rising from the water. The object they were holding onto was her father's crown, now warped in the sea witch's liking and fitted upon her head. It glowed with an eerie grey light, just like the rest of her form.

Seeing nowhere else to flee, she soon found herself free falling through the air with Eric just a few feet away from her. The two plunged into the ocean and submerged before emerging and finding each other again. They stared up at her as she focused and pointed the harpoon from earlier at them. It had been transformed to look like black branch coral was sprouting from the staff and the hooked blade looked longer and more menacing. It too glowed with the frightening aura.

"YOU PITIFUL, INSIGNIFICANT FOOLS!"

The two broke off and swam furiously away as her tentacles raised up and came crashing down on top of them. Waves rose up and crashed down, growing increasingly more powerful and dangerous. Ursula raised her weapon to the sky and swirled it around, directing the storm clouds and lightning along with the sea itself.

"NOW I AM THE RULER OF ALL THE OCEAN! THE WAVES OBEY MY EVERY WHIM!"

The ravaging winds directed the water between them, yanking them out of each others grasp.

"Ariel," he screamed as she was flung by a wave and sent tumbling into the swirling maelstrom as the sea witch dipped her weapon into the water and swirled up the waters into a massive whirlpool.

"THE SEA AND ALL ITS SPOILS BOW TO MY POWER!"

He watched as long-forgotten and broken shipwrecks rose to the surface and began following within the path of the vortex. Yet in the all this wrecking havoc upon the world around him, past all the whipping winds, pelting rain, and untamed sea, he could only think of saving one thing and one thing alone.

Ariel.

And he would risk his life doing so to at least know that she was safe.

* * *

 **"Cliff hanger! Hanging from a-" Oh wait. Sorry, already did this reference. Between the Lions if you didn't get it.**

 **Just an interesting thing; Triton prayer to Oceanus actually took a good bit of research. According to the wiki, Triton's father is Poseidon and his grandfather is Neptune. Apologies to fellow Christians if this offends you, I just thought their might be some sort if religion the merfolk believe in and I thought it might be necessary to use a water-related deity for it to be understood. And since I couldn't use the Roman/Greek gods of the sea for this due to canonical reasons, I had to go searching.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had lots of fun with the plot twists. Please leave a review and tune in for the exciting conclusion! Sincerely, v.t.7**


	12. Ocean's Fury

**Chapter 12:** ** _Ocean's Fury_**

 **To be honest, with the switched roles in this alternate fight scene, I had a little trouble finding the strengths of the two heroes against Ursula. However, I would like to thank Axantur for providing me with some of the pros and cons of them. Thanks a bunch, Axantur!**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

What once had been a gorgeous sunset sky shining down on what would have been a sweet, memorable event had suddenly been ripped apart from out of nowhere and replaced with darkened sky, savage winds, and raging waves. And in the midst of it all, a massive octopus-tentacled woman threw it all into motion. Her great harpoon stirred up the waters, creating a massive vortex in the already fearsome maelstrom. Her cruel eyes searched through the waves, looking for her two intended targets that were being swept with and tossed around in her storm.

Deep underneath the water the vortex began to pull up sunken relics from a long ago age. Old, broken ships and pieces of debris began to rise up from the deep and come up to the surface. They exploded to the top, some of them breaking even further from reaching the surface before they began to follow in the whirlpool's wake. Rotting, broken giants rising up from the dead like skeletons, they matched the maelstrom the sea witch had wrought.

Beneath the waters and struggling against the powerful currents trying to pull him in was a merman. His tail and fins flapped uselessly, as he had not yet gotten used to using them. It didn't help that he was also carrying a heavy, powerful weapon that was crucial to keep on to. Between holding the triton and learning how to swim, his eyes scanned through the waters, looking for his fiance.

Also in the midst of all this havoc was a human female, being tossed like a ragdoll by the waves. Her body was not yet adapted to swimming underwater without fins and gills, so all she could do is hold her breath and desperately try to keep her head above water. But with the storm stirring up the water and pelting rain down below, and her strength waning, she feared she couldn't last much longer.

A rock protruding out of the water soon came into view and close range. She desperately reached out for it, her legs kicking out from beneath her to get closer to it. Her nails dug into the rough surfaces and eroded niches as she grasped on and tried to pull herself out of the water. Her limbs felt numb and she couldn't hold on much longer if the conditions didn't improve in her favor soon.

Up above her, the giant cecaelian surveyed the powerful scene she had made. Even without the triton, the power over the sea still coursed through her veins like hot blood. The two others might had gotten away from her once, but she would never allow them to escape this time. With each of them in their opposite and unfamiliar forms, they would not be able to survive past the foreign elements and dangers put before them. The prince and his new tail would be utterly helpless against the rising shipwrecks and would undoubtedly crushed by them. As for the princess, her eyes fell onto rock near the vortex she made. Raising her weapon, she blasted the rock, sending her into the water that now betrayed her.

Through the air Ariel sailed until finally hitting the inside of the whirlpool. The strong current finally caught hold onto her weakened form and she was pulled under the waves and into the ocean. In her shock she accidentally let out most of the air in her mouth and began holding the remainder as best she could. Her head began throbbing with pain from the depth pressure and rapid spinning.

All of a sudden, she found the liquid being stripped away from her face and replaced with frigid air. Her body was limp as she was flung from the sea and onto the exposed, damp seafloor. Her hands shakily lifted up to her head and she clutched it, trying to lessen the pain. Her vision was blurred and she could barely make out the shapes of the rocks beside her, tinged green from the light up above.

Though her senses were dulled, she could hear the maniacal laughter of the sea witch above her, obviously staring down into her handiwork and spotting her. Her eyes were stinging from the salty sea and grains of wet sand, so she could barely make out the glowing gold and black weapon she was holding. Despite her limbs protesting against movement, she knew that she was in grave danger at that moment and had to get away from the spot she was in.

A gold beam, enhanced with wisps of black and purple shot down from the weapon, hitting the ground and singing it. She looked up to see the sea witch taking aim at her again. The harpoon growled again and energy grew towards the tip. As it shot out, she weakly pushed herself out of the way, moving to the side by a few feet. The ground turned to melted rock where the laser struck. She dodged again, before beginning to realize that she had limited space to move.

Meanwhile, Eric was struggling to not be struck by any of the shipwrecks. He was a strong swimmer to be sure, but not entirely used to swimming with a tail instead of legs. Luckily for him, he was usually one be adapt quickly to a situation. He soon discovered that if he straightened out his back like a board and flapped his tail up and down instead of sideways like a ship's rudder, he could get through the carnage. With the additions of fins on his body, he could steer as well. Adjusting to his environment now, as well as maneuvering aside from some wreckage, he could now begin to search of a way out of this mess.

A flash of light reached his vision. At first he thought it was lightning, but then noted that it was way too bright and close to be the kind that came from the storm. He spotted another one, this time seeing where it was going. He realized he was now swimming and looking through the whirlpool into the exposed part of the ocean the witch had opened up. More blazing projectiles entered the vortex and he realized that she was firing at something on the ocean floor.

A horrible thought came into mind and before his mind could process it further, his body dipped forward and his tail began flapping madly, thrusting him directly into the whirlpool. When his brain finally caught onto what he was doing, he swam faster. The direction the swirl was going into only increased his speed. When he finally got close enough to the bottom, he began leaning out of the vortex, hoping he would fall out without injuring himself or losing the great artifact of power.

The water seemed to fly off him as he finally pushed through the strong currents and into exposed pocket of air. He had thankfully landed from just a few feet above, only leaving him with a small pain in his shoulder when the triton hit against it. He cringed when his lungs transferred into the much cooler air, yer he put the pain aside and searched for Ariel.

"Ariel!"

"E-Eric!"

His head turned to the side and he gasped when he saw her, laying frightfully close to a blasted, molten area of ground. Her eyes left off him for a moment, looking upward, before she scooted away a few more feet. An explosion happened where she was, sending hot rocks and steaming sand flying up. When it finally cleared, he could see the identical-looking scorch mark like the previous one.

He let out a yelp when another explosion happened right beside him. He winced as he felt a hot chunk of rock touch his side, burning his skin. He quickly rolled over, letting the heated part of his body cool down in the muddy sand. He was sure that the wound would be ugly once he got a chance to see it.

As he looked up and saw the sea witch readying for another blast, he knew that he had been spotted and was now another target for her to shoot at. He soon realized that moving across the bottom of the ocean without the water was a difficult task with his heavy tail slowing him down. That and trying to keep the triton in his grasp.

"Eric," Ariel cried out again, trying to reach out to him. She yelped when another blast, this time nearly hitting her, came in front of her. Feeling determination and anger surge through him, he doubled his efforts to get himself closer to her. When the smoke cleared and the time between now and he next blast was ticking down, she weakly made her way past it and tried coming closer to him.

Above them, Ursula took notice of their plan to get closer to one another and waited a few more seconds to let them reunite, as well as preparing a much larger and powerful blast. Afterall, why go for one when she could get two birds with one stone. As soon as the two came into close enough ranger, she aimed her harpoon at them and fired a shot. Only instead of the two blowing up, one the ships circling around her whirlpool was blasted to smithereens. She roared as smoke and shattered wood planks blinded her vision.

While she was momentarily distracted, the two finally managed to crawl across over to one another. Eric curled his tail to the side and reached out to embrace her, holding her tightly. She hugged back, though her hold was weaker then his.

"Thank goodness you're safe," he whispered, using the free hand that was not holding onto the triton to place it behind her head and press her closer his his.

"Eric please, you need to get out of here," she pleaded and tried pulling away from home. He refused to let her go and grabbed her by the shoulders before looking directly at her.

"I'm not leaving you," he said. He knew that he was being stubborn, but he'd died with her if it meant they'd be together in the end. She stared at him and he could see the realization in her eyes that she knew he wasn't going to leave. All of a sudden, they widened with fear and her hand reached out and pointed up.

"Eric. Look out!"

He turned, just to see Ursula smiling wickedly down at them. The shipwreck had been cleared from her range, as well as another one, and she now had the harpoon aimed right at them again.

"SO MUCH FOR TRUE LOVE," she cackled, boring down on them.

The beam headed straight down towards them. There was nowhere else to go, nowhere else to escape the fired shot. The couple just held on to each other as tightly as they could, preparing for the last few minutes they would ever be with each other.

"WHAT?!"

The searing heat of the blast never came. As the smoke cleared, the two never let go of each other, but did open their eyes to see what had happened. To their astonishment, a golden spherical shield was above them, blocking any incoming projectiles. They looked down at the triton, which was glowing bright. As soon as the two started to break away from each other, the light started to flicker and so did the shield.

"The triton," Ariel suddenly said, making him look at her in confusion. "Of course! I remember daddy telling me how the triton works. It requires the wielder to be of merfolk form and a child of the sea," she explained. He blinked and shook his head in confusion.

"Ariel, what are you-"

He stopped and looked at the triton, which was gowing as brightly as before when her hands grasped around it too. She took them off for a moment and they began flickering again, but kept a steady glow once she placed them back on. He took his hands off it too, before grasping it again when the exact same thing happened.

"YOU FOOLS!"

They looked up at the sky. The lightning flashed, casting shadows across Ursula's face as her red eyes glared ferociously down at them. Her grasp of the harpoon tightened until her knuckles began to whiten. Her eyes started to glow with the same menacingly dark light as the harpoon. Her jaw clenched, revealing her teeth which now looked more like monster fangs.

The weapon directed at them and began crackling with energy as Ursula prepared her most powerful attack yet.

"LET'S FINISH THIS NOW!"

They grasped tightly onto the triton, focusing all their thoughts and remaining strength into it. The artifact glowed with such a burning intensity that they had to shut their eyes and shield their face from the heat and light emanating from it. They felt the power surge through their bodies and connect with the triton. Light gathered at the tip and at the same time they pointed it up towards Ursula.

A gold beam shot out, but unlike Ursula's, it was devoid of the dark aura. It's course was true and it hit its mark.

Ursula screamed as she was impaled right through her cruel, cold heart. Her eyes grew wide as pain spread throughout her form, paralyzing every part of her. The lightning that she once controlled danced all around and struck her. Her form started to teeter back when she then changed direction and descended onto the remaining shipwreck. Electricity coursed through her body, making her drop the harpoon which disintegrated into nothingness without a wielder.

Her arms and tentacles tried to desperately grab onto the boat, but her weight and the extent damage done to it were causing them both to sink. The ocean around them started to boil and even smoke as the evil sea witch met her end.

With no longer anything keeping it in motion, the whirlpool fell apart, flooding the exposed sea floor again with water. Eric grasped onto Ariel tightly as they were swept up with the ocean once more. The triton was wrenched out of his grasp in the process, yet he paid it no heed as he brought Ariel up to the surface. She laid limply against him as they broke through and he began swimming her to shore.

When they reached the beach, he pulled them both onto the sand and collapsed, dripping water and breathing heavily. His hand came under her cheek, pulling her face up to his, but her eyes were closed and he couldn't tell if she was breathing or not.

He encircled her waist with his arm and pulled her close to him as real tears began to fall from his eyes, despite him being in merman form.

Beneath the waves, Ursula's remains fell into her lair and into her garden where miraculously the polyps turned back into merfolk who same away joyfully, finally free from the sea witch's power. Yet he didn't care.

The triton had descended down and landed at the base of it's original, rightful owner and restored him to his original state. Yet he didn't care.

All around him, the world had restored to it's original state. The storm had faded away, the sea had calmed down, and everything was alright now. Yet he didn't care.

All he did care about now was that Ariel would come back to him.

* * *

 **I noticed that this chapter was shorter then previous ones. I probably should've taken out some of the previous scene from the end of the last chapter and instead placed it here, but I guess it's too late now. Anyways I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. The next one should be the wedding scene and I intend to do the epilogue on another chapter after that. Please leave a review and I'll see you next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	13. Dedicated Love

**Chapter 13:** ** _Dedicated Love_**

 **Okay, I'm going to reveal one of my pet peeves on two of the film's characters; Eric and King Triton. They are both connected by a common character, Ariel. My issue is that even with Triton being Eric's father-in-law and Eric vice-versa, we never see any scenes that are together and interacting. I think since we never actually see Eric's parents and since they are implied to be dead, that this could be some excellent character bonding between them. So, yeah, spoilers because you will see some in this chapter. It's also rather short, just a heads up.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The sky above was covered in a blanket of grey clouds, with only the faintest beams of sunlight trickling out through the vapor. The sea was quiet, with waves rolling through the water and onto the shore as calmly as they had before. Upon the beach and dragged up onto the sand was a merman. He was in an uncomfortable environment, with only the waves lapping at his tail being his only source of moisture in this otherwise dry spot he was in. Yet his concern was not at the dehydration of his aquatic form, rather at the human female laying limply in his embrace.

His hand slowly drew up and brushed away several stray strands of her scarlet hair from her face. Her pale skin had scratches and bruises from the event that had transpired and ended just hours ago. He placed a hand to her face frowning at the temperature he felt. He knew that merfolk had slightly cooler body temperatures due to their half-fish bodies, yet despite the heat sensitivity they had, she was colder then normal.

Drops of moisture dripped onto her face, as salty as the seawater. He squeezed his eyelids tighter, sending more tears streaming down his cheeks. His chest felt tight and his heart hurt each time it beat. His arms tightened around her, pulling her closer to him as he cried into her hair. He didn't care how weak he might appear to anyone that might be watching him right now, he wasn't ashamed of what he was doing. His heart was breaking apart and it ached for her.

So engrossed he was in his misery that he did not hear the figure rising out of the water behind him, nor did he see him approach the shore. It wasn't until he heard the deep baritone voice of the sea king himself did he begin to become aware to his surroundings.

"I hadn't expected this."

His skin twitched, but it wasn't from the voice behind him or the cold.

"I had known of my daughter's obsession with humans for years, but only recently did I find out how deep it really went."

His focus remained still on her limp form.

"A cavern filled with things from the human world. Artifacts of different elements, crafted in different forms, all sunken below the surface. She had gathered them up for years, an collection of no one thing."

He heard the figure release a deep sigh, as if this was a painful subject for him to talk about.

"It now has been turned to sand on the seafloor. Broken, shattered, disintegrated, vaporized into nothing. As I left, she remained, broken down as her precious treasures."

His hand went up to stroke her hair and brush away the beads of moisture that had accumulated from the sea.

"I began to feel regretful for my actions. Here she had gone behind my back, gathering things and making it an obsession. She had grown dear to those inanimate objects and in an instant I broke them, leaving her behind in her misery."

The figure paused and let out another pained sigh.

"Had I not reacted with such hostility all this could have been prevented. However, I must ask..."

He heard the waves burble as they brought the sea king closer to the shore.

"How long have you've known my daughter."

He stopped stroking her hair, his hand falling limply to the side. He could feel the elder being's stare on his back and could feel the mild sting in the air of reasonable irritation he must have felt. Of course he suspected that he had known her for quite awhile, less he would probably not have shown such affection towards her right now.

"Six years," he slowly replied.

The silence between them was only disturbed by the ocean and the breeze. He picked up his hand again and resumed gently stroking her head, all while avoiding eye contact.

"Do you love her?"

A shudder ran through his body. Stopping any previous movements, his head flipped back over his shoulder. The muscular and powerful king of the seas looked straight at him his face void of any emotions.

"Do you love my daughter," he repeated, his gruff, strong voice sounding just the slightest bit gentle. His eyes betrayed just the smallest bit of curiosity and concern. They kept staring at each other for a few moments until he let about a small sigh and bowed his head before him.

"I love her more then life itself. She makes me lose myself everytime I see her. I get goosebumps just from the thought of her. I cherish every moment I spend with her and miss every moment when she's not with me. I would willingly give up my life here and now to just know that she'll be alright."

He had gotten louder at the end and his maw dropped open as he panted. His eyes and face stung as a fresh set of tears tumbled forth and dripped into his hands as he pressed them to his face. Every part of his body felt weak and he had a sick feeling swirling in his stomach and head.

Here he was, crying before the king of the sea like a child who had just dropped their favorite toy into the mud. He sure he looked inadequate and unfit for his daughter, but after all that had happened in the past day he just had to let it all out.

Suddenly, he felt a wave of warmth spread over his body. His skin shivered as the soothing heat brushed over it's cool surface. His tense, sore muscles began to relax and the painful nausea disappeared. He let out a shaky breath as the healing feeling spread throughout him.

His hands slowly pulled off from his face. He initially squinted as the clouds parted and revealed the sun, though they widened as he looked down below his torso and saw his legs where his tail was. He took notice of the golden light fading off his feet and the little sparkles dimming off of his pant legs.

His head threw up towards the sea king, holding out his triton towards him, and now holding a gentle smile on his face. He nodded his triton lightly to the side and his focus went to behind him. His eyes widened with joy when he saw Ariel's tattered and ripped wedding dress replaced with a sparkling, summer one. Her chest rose and fell again at a more rapid rate and soft moans escaped past her lips. Her arm shakily came up to her head and a hand pressed against her forehead.

"Ariel," he whispered, not daring to scare her in her fragile state now.

Her eyelids tightened together before prying open. Surrounded by the golden light of the rising sun behind him she made out the form of her beloved.

"E-ric," she breathed out, her arms reaching up and out to him. He came closer and they embraced tightly. His hands pressed on her shoulder blades and the back of her head, pushing her tighter to him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, yanking him closer. Their foreheads pressed against one another's and their breaths intermingled. Their eyes focused on the other with affection and care.

Their lips made contact and a rush of love, joy, and heat rushed over them. They felt whole with one another and that was all that mattered to them.

* * *

 **And true love conquers all!**

 **I bet a few of you were hoping for the wedding scene, bit I felt this had to definitely go first. We're coming to a close of our story, so stay tuned for the next, and possibly last, chapter. Please leave a review and have an awesome day. Sincerely, v.t.7**


	14. Part of Both Worlds

**Chapter 14:** ** _Part of Both Worlds_**

 **Hey everyone, thanks for staying with me till the end. We've finally made it to the end of the story and let me just say it has been a blast and a half doing this story. You guys have been amazing what with all the reviews and the favorites and follows, you guys are just awesome.**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It almost felt like a dream to her. Here she was on her wedding day, exactly as before but with no giant octopus-witches interrupting it. Here she had strode down the aisle, dressed in the prettiest dress and veil she had ever seen. It felt like a cloud on her, matching how her heart had felt. At the end of the purple and gold carpet Eric waited for her, dressed in the finest as well just for her. Stepping up right beside him, she gave him her prettiest smile through the thin, glittery fabric covering her face before turning towards the priest.

The words of honoring, obeying, and loving one another seemed to fade in the background as they looked at each other, as they knew they had already demonstrated and made those vows in their hearts years before now. They barely had to breath out the words, "I do", before they came closer to each other, immediately surrounding them in a tight embrace. He lifted up her veil, taking a moment to gaze at the beauty it held underneath it before his hands reached up to gently cup her chin and pull her face towards his.

As their soft lips touched one another's, the entire world around them cheered and clapped in congratulatory fashion. Both felt a wave of weightlessness overcome them, surging through their bodies and making them feel lighter than air. It was only when they felt the tickling sensation of fur on their skin and the sudden slap of warm wetness on their faces did they become aware of reality again.

Almost immediately they were swarmed by the audience, ready to exchange friendly hugs, kisses, handshakes, pats on the back, or nods to the newlyweds. It took quite a bit of pushing through and pacing, but they finally made it over to the side of the ship where the people had not yet gathered yet. At least, the guests not in the water.

Right at the back of the boat a small group of people stood waiting for them. One man and six girls, each with their own looks, hair colors, outfits, and styles, and probably different personalities as well. They swarmed around her as she approached, each congratulating her in a typical sisterly fashion while also stopping by him to give him his first introductions and sense of his sisters-in-law.

The man came up last, once each of the girls had managed to pull away from them. Though his long white beard and hair would appear a bit bizarre to some, on him it just emphasized his strength. He was well into his years, yet still incredibly tall and strong and he proudly strode over to them with all the stoic elegance of a regal ruler. For all his commanding, no-nonsense demeanor and the aura of power he gave off, his facade broke as he stepped up to the bride, his arms reaching around his youngest in a gentle embrace. She returned the hug, tightly wrapping her own arms around his neck.

"I love you, daddy," she whispered. The tighter squeeze of his arms alerted her that he had heard and was replying.

As soon as they broke off, his eyes did a short search before landing on the newest addition to his family. His son-in-law was younger, shorter, and less strong than him, and it showed as the two stood before one another. A small gasp of air escaped from everyone's mouths except the bride's and the king's as he reached out and placed a firm hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"You take good care of her," he said, his voice perfectly matching his demeanor. Eric gave a sincere nod before smiling up at his father-in-law. He reciprocated the action, full of confidence that Eric was up to the task of being a good husband to his daughter. Though greater stature and experience would come over time, he knew the man had a great heart already, one that guided his actions and would lead him to do great things as well.

The king then nodded towards his daughters, signaling them to follow. They quickly hurried after him, but not after reaching over to embrace their sister and new brother-in-law one last time. There was a bright glow on the water's surface, cast by the warm, glowing sun, though the light grew stronger as the triton pointed at it. Taking one hand on the railing, the king propelled his body and legs over it, jumping over the side of the boat and into the water. His daughter's followed the suit, albeit more careful as to not to tear their dresses.

The newlyweds peered over the edge, watching as the light fade, revealing multiple, brightly-colored tails which soon slipped under the water before the upper forms of the royal family appeared. Soon more heads and shoulder appeared as more and more merpeople arose to the surface, each waving their hands to the royal couple. Upon the deck of the ship, the rest of the guests came out, finally looking out onto the ocean and seeing the race of beings who lived beneath the waves.

Before both worlds, the bride and groom took each other into their arms again and pressed closer for another kiss. The trials they had faced, the obstacles they had overcome, the hard-earned battles they had fought to be here right there and now, it had all been worth it. The rush of warmth flooded over them again, burning as strongly as the sun above, shining down upon all the world.

The world they shared together.

* * *

 **It's short, but I think that's all the ending should be; short and sweet. Thank you all so much for sticking with me on this story till the very end. could you believe that this entire thing all got started cause I thought of this film one day and decided to do an AU of it? Hadn't even imagined I'd go this far with it.**

 **So before any of you started asking, I have had the idea for a sequel in mind. Whether or not I have the motivation to do it is still in question, as it's been quite a long time since I've actually watched the sequel and even longer since I could make sense of it. As for the sequel to this story, it would take rewatching of the film and a lot of consideration, but it is most definitely a possibility.**

 **Thank you all so much. Please leave a review and, hopefully, I'll see you guys again next time. Sincerely, v.t.7**


End file.
